Criminal
by ThisLooksLikeAJobForMe
Summary: SEQUEL TO 'JAILBAIT'. Established Loki/OC relationship...well, if you can call it a relationship. It's...well, dysfunctional, to say the least. Living with Loki was never going to be easy, and Lily Girling isn't sure why she ever thought it would be. With a rising threat to the world becoming apparent, will Loki fight by her side? Or will he watch her fall?
1. Chapter 1

**Criminal**

**1**

**Sequel to Jailbait oh yeah partay. If you haven't read Jailbait, I suggest that you do so, or this one probably won't make much sense – then again, you could always just wing it and read this anyway...but Jailbait is pretty good, if I do say so myself...the over 400 reviews agree with me...**

**And if you've been reading my stuff for a while, hi! Welcome back! You're all looking as sexy as ever *wiggles eyebrows*. In fact, hello to everyone! There, I think that covers it. I probably won't be updating this one as quickly as Jailbait, but you never know...**

**And you know how Jailbait's 'song' was 21 Guns by Green Day? ****A link to the OFFICIAL PLAYLIST (compiled by yours truly with some help from Jen-who-Lily-is-based-on and wolfshadow32) for this and Jailbait can be found on my profile page. It's a bit random, but listen to the lyrics and I'm sure you'll find a place in which they link in. There's no particular order to it either – just put it on shuffle and enjoy! I also recommend that you DON'T subscribe to that channel, as it's just the one I use for **_**my**_** subscriptions, so I'd only clog up your feed with likes and comments and stuff. If you really feel the need to subscribe to my face, sub to TheExplodingLlamas instead ^_^**

**Not got the plot of this one completely hammered out in stone yet, but we'll get there, promise! Hope you enjoy, and leave me a review – it's really easy now, you don't even have to click on a link to get the review window up anymore! Xxx**

I rolled over, squinting from the bright morning sunshine. My arm flopped out across mattress, and I frowned. There should be a person there...where had he gone? I sighed heavily and looked around the room. I was alone. I tilted my head to one side and grinned as I heard the toaster pop up. I pulled myself up from the bed and grabbed the man's dressing gown from the back of the door, wrapping it round myself and tying a loose knot in the cord. I stifled a yawn as I padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Standing at the counter in green stripy boxers shorts was Loki, ex-God of Mischief, and my sort of boyfriend. I grinned as he winced when the toast burnt his fingers, giggling as he dropped the slices onto a plate with a curse.

The hell I did.

What _really_ happened was I woke up lying next to Loki at around 11am. I had a strip of about 30cm wide to lie on as he was sprawled out across most of the double bed, and he was snoring. Loudly. I didn't want to check for drool. I get the feeling that if I saw any, I would suddenly find him strangely unattractive. That of course, would be ludicrous, as he is one of the sexiest men I've ever seen. However, he is most certainly NOT a morning person.

"Wakey, wakey." I poked his bicep. He didn't respond. "Good morning sunshine, I hope that you're well..." I sang softly as I continued to poke him. He groaned and slapped at my hand groggily. "It's gone 11am, Loki. We said that we'd be at S.H.I.E.L.D at 12 for the check up thingy."

"_We_ didn't say anything. _You_ said we'd be there." His eyes flickered open and I propped myself up on my elbows to look at him properly.

"Mehh. Get up and get in the shower." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Make me." I grinned.

"You know that I will. And you forget, I'm much stronger than you now." He smirked and pushed me sharply off the bed, eliciting a small scream from me as I landed in a heap on the floor. "Hey! No bad behaviour, remember!" He leaned over the side of the mattress and his eyes flashed mischievously.

"You know exactly how _bad_ I can be, Lily." I flushed at the blatant innuendo.

"You've yet to actually _show_ me, Loki." I retorted as I stood up. "Get in the shower." I threw a pillow at him for good measure, which he caught due to his freaking lightning fast reflexes. Yawning, I left his room and made my way down to the kitchen, filling the kettle up and flicking it on. I grabbed two mugs from the drainer and dropped a teabag in both of them before heading back up the stairs to have a shower. As I walked past his room, I couldn't help but notice that the infernal man was still in bed. I sighed, and ducked into the small bathroom on the landing and quietly filled up a glass of water. I snuck back into his room and stood behind him (he was lying on his front with his face buried in the pillow). I had no doubt that he knew I was there, but I'm fairly certain that he wasn't expecting to have a glass of water dumped over his bare back. He shot up, roaring in surprise. I backed up to the doorway, cackling evilly. He shook his head, water flying off his dripping hair, and I raised an eyebrow as I noticed the way some of it was clinging to his smooth, pale chest. He stalked towards me menacingly, which only made me laugh harder.

"I told you to have a shower, Loki!" He stopped, looking down at me where I was pressed against the wall. I smiled innocently and he scoffed, stepping back and allowing me past. I walked slowly back across the hall and reached into the airing cupboard for a towel.

"ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and lift me up. He held me upside down over his shoulder, and I beat his back feebly, finding that it was very difficult to put up much of a fight when you were laughing so hysterically you could barely breathe. I clicked my fingers and a pillow flew to my hand, which I then used to continue my assault on his back. He walked through to my room and dumped me unceremoniously on my bed. I pushed my hair out of my face and glared at him.

"Get in the shower, Lily." He mocked. I grabbed the pillow and threw it at him (I seem to do that a lot). He laughed as he picked it up, offering me a hand to help me up. I begrudgingly took it and squealed as he suddenly pulled me up against his (still bare, still very, very, VERY hot) chest. He bent down and kissed me quickly before releasing his hold on me and walking out of my room. I exhaled, rubbed my face and headed to my shower. On the way past my table, I noticed the time. Twenty past eleven. The car to take us to S.H.I.E.L.D was due at half past. Bollocks.

**~X~**

_If we're going to be late, I may as well take the time to look presentable,_ I thought to myself as I rubbed shampoo into my hair. It wasn't long before my thoughts wondered to Loki, as they so often do. It was...difficult, shall we say? We'd been living together for nearly two weeks now, and while it did have its bonuses (a constant source of intelligent conversation, witty and/or teasing banter and general sexiness), there were definitely downsides. His laziness, for example. His refusal to do anything to help with, say, the washing up or preparing meals (on that subject, I'm really surprised I haven't poisoned us both yet with my cooking). If I had any choice, I would move out (or make him move out). He's absolutely fantastic, but living with him 24/7 really grates on my nerves.

I think it would be better if we could actually clarify what _we _were. The only label that I can definitely say applies to us is 'housemates'. I mean...considering he killed me, can we be friends? Considering I volunteered to live with him, can we be enemies? Can I be his babysitter if really he can take care of himself? Can we be a...couple...if there's no romance at all?

I mean, seriously. The first night, we were both a bit soft, and were going on about 'Oh, I'm so glad we're together again' in between making out for about four hours straight. The second day, we spoke to each other the same as we always have done – except perhaps with a little more flirting and sexual tension. That night, again, he pulled me into his room and we made out before sleeping together. The operative word being _sleeping_, as that's all we did. That routine has pretty much continued up until today – flirting during the day, sleeping together during the night. Each evening has contained less and less kissing. In the early days, we'd both be in our underwear before he stopped us and decided it was time to sleep. Now, I struggle to even get his shirt off before he announces that he's tired. Last night, we talked for _hours_ after he said he was tired. There are two conclusions I can draw from this:

1 – he's already bored of me, and after seeing me with morning bed-hair and no caffeine in my system, has decided that in fact, there's no way he could ever be attracted to me.

2 – he's frigid. And from what Alva told me back in Asgard...Loki is nowhere near frigid. Apparently half the maids in the castle have slept with him at some point – and that's _while_ he was married.

So, as neither as of these conclusions make sense to me...I'm just going to ignore them. Loki's messed up, I know that. Maybe he just needs some time to adjust or something.

I shut the shower off and wrapped a towel around myself before walking back into my bedroom.

"The car's outside already, Lily." I screamed and clutched onto my towel, staring at the man sat on my bed.

"Jesus, Loki, you gave me a heart attack! Get out!" He tilted his head at me, not bothering to disguise his wandering eyes. I sighed and shoved him off my duvet and propelled him towards the door. Thank god he was wearing clothes...if he was sat on my bed in a towel...well, at least he'd actually had a shower...

"You love it really." He teased, a grin spreading across his face almost as fast as a blush was spreading across mine.

"Sure I do, Loki. Now go make me a cup of tea while I get changed; the cups are set out, the kettle is full, all you need to do is boil the water, pour it, stir, hook the teabags out, put some milk in it and stir, now shoo, shoo." I succeeded in pushing him out of my room and shut the door behind him.

I couldn't work out whether situations such as that were bonuses or negatives.

**~X~**

I finally made it downstairs, having put on the tight black jeans and black long sleeved t-shirt that constituted my uniform and pulled my wet hair back in a plait. I dumped my not-leather leather jacket on the bag of the chair and took the mug that Loki offered to me gratefully. I quickly opened the front door to see the driver of the black car leaning against the hood looking at his watch pointedly.

"I'm sorry, alarm clock didn't go off...we'll be out in ten minutes, just let us get something to eat first – did you want anything?" When in potential doo-doo, be as nice and polite as possible. It's worked pretty well for me in the past.

"I'm _sure_ your alarm didn't go off, Agent." I blinked dumbly at the man's rudeness. "I'm sure you've _eaten_ plenty. Any sausages, perhaps?" My jaw set in an angry line. He knew exactly what he was insinuating and he was doing it just to be a dick. I set my mug on the wall by the gate and stepped up to the gate.

"Well, _Agent_, I'm fairly certain you'll find that I outrank you in every way possible, and I highly doubt that you want to get on my bad side. It would be so easy for me to whisper in Nick Fury's ear that you've been saying _unsavoury_ things about my current situation, and even easier for him to throw you out on your ass, so might I suggest that you shut the hell up and stay shut up until we arrive at Headquarters?" It was his turn to blink dumbly. Sure, I may be a short 18 year old who looks like a Lilliputian compared to this mountain of muscle and fat, but there was no way I was going to stand for his douchebaggery. "Trust me, _Agent_, my bite is a whole lot worse than my bark. Get in the car." I smiled condescendingly as he nodded and opened his door. I turned back to the house, grabbing my mug on the way. Loki was stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, looking at me with something almost like concern. I brushed past him, heading for the kitchen and food.

"Just peachy." I muttered darkly. He followed, shutting the front door.

"I was going to come out, but you seemed to be handling that alright." I rolled my eyes as I dumped a pile of cereal in a bowl and sloshed some milk over the top.

"And what exactly would you have done, Loki?" I asked as he sat down opposite me with a plate of toast.

"I'm a God. I would've..." He stopped abruptly.

"But you're not a God at the minute, Loki." I said gently. "I know it's hard, and trust me, if I met you in a dark alley, I'd still pretty much cack myself and run in the other direction, but that guy would have no issue with laying into you, especially because you're Loki and 98% of S.H.I.E.L.D dislikes you intensely." I put my hand over his. "Thanks anyway." I gave him a small smile, and was not surprised when he didn't smile in return. His eyes were stormy and his fists clenched. He was angry. "Loki..."

"I hate this weak body!" He exclaimed suddenly, slamming his fist down on the table. The leg nearest to him splintered and gave way. I made a grab for the table top to hold it even while pointing at one of the chairs and moving it under the side of the table that was currently unsupported before I looked at him.

"Not so weak, huh?" I said lightly as I picked up my mug and was relieved to see a slight grin quirk his mouth. I raised the mug to my lips and took a sip...and instantly spat it out into my cereal bowl. I looked at Loki accusingly.

"Salt instead of sugar? Really?" I pawed at my tongue, gagging. He shrugged, pointing at himself.

"God of Mischief? I'm a prankster, remember." I stuck my finger in the poison-tea and flicked some at him.

"You're not a God, you're a douche." I grumbled as I poured it down the sink and grabbed a bottle of Coke out of the fridge instead. I turned around and flinched in surprise as I realised he was suddenly standing right behind me. He pulled the bottle out of my hands and set in on the counter.

"Sorry." He said teasingly. I punched his chest lightly (he was wearing a mossy green t-shirt...I swear he picked all the green clothes from his wardrobe on purpose).

"Forgiven."

"And I'm sorry about him-" he jerked his head towards the window, through which I could see the black car still parked illegally along the curb. "-being insensitive. I know this is difficult for you, and it's difficult for me too, not being able to do anything about it. I'm sure I'll get used to...being human...but it will take time."

"I know." I rested a hand on his cheek, noting distractedly that he'd clearly forgotten to shave and had a day's worth of stubble on his face. I shot a look out of the window and could clearly see the driver there staring at us through dark sunglasses. You know what? Sod him. I turned back to Loki and brought his lips to mine, standing on tiptoes as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could feel his mouth curving in a smile against mine and he clearly decided to play along, as he lifted me up onto the counter so I could wrap my legs around his waist. It really was very nice, kissing Loki. I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to it, but I sure as hell enjoy it. Like, _really_ enjoy it. Like,_ I don't want to go to the S.H.I.E.L.D meeting thingy and suck up to Fury I want to stay here and make out with Loki instead_, sort of enjoy it. When Fury asked me to be 'Loki's babysitter', he made it clear that he didn't really care _what_ we got up to as long as Loki behaved himself in the world-domination sense. It was common knowledge that Loki and I were...a _thing_...well, at least to those who knew I was alive. So I suppose that only means Fury, Agent Hill and a couple of the people on the Board of Directors. But mehh.

We eventually pulled apart and I laughed, looking out the window again and seeing the look of disgust of the driver's face. I flipped him the finger, and, for good measure, made his glasses fall off his face and into his lap. These magic powers or whatever you want to call them certainly were...useful.

"That was fun." I said slightly breathlessly.

"I agree." He murmured, brushing his lips against mine again. I leant into him for a second before pulling back and giving him a quick hug before hopping off the counter.

"Come on, we're late enough as it is." I kept hold of his hand as we both picked up our stuff and left the house. Maybe I didn't mind the whole 'No labels that fit us' thing so much after all...

**Horrendously long opening chapter in which nothing much of any consequence happens. Sorry. This story will take longer to get off the ground, because I'm not writing it with the intention of it being short – it will be as long as it needs to be. Next chapter will be up in a couple of days – Jen-who-Lily-is-based-on is taking me to the Olympics tomorrow, because she's fabulous like that (happy dance). Reviewers win adorable pop-tart cats.**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

**I think I should just say now that I suck at writing sequels. I can pretty much guarantee that this story won't be as good as Jailbait, but nevertheless, I will try my best to give you bros something you'll enjoy. I don't see the point in pretending that I'm as confident for this story as I was for Jailbait, but I'm hoping that you sexy beasts will support me anyway – I mean, I'm doing it for you!  
Also, I apologise if this chapter isn't 100% coherent. I'm eating Rainbow Drops and I swear to God, the high I'm on is comparable to meth. (Not that I've ever tripped on methamphetamines. Pwomise).**

We arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters after a very awkward half an hour in the back seat of the car and half an hour _after_ we were due there. Loki climbed out of the car and held the door open for me – I don't think he did it to be _nice_ as such, I think it was more a habit from his upbringing in holding carriage doors open to the ladies of Asgard. I smiled at him regardless, and he smiled back, but I could see the tension clear in his eyes. He was...not worried or scared about this meeting, but he was certainly apprehensive. As he shut the door, I reached for his hand and squeezed it. He tightened his fingers around mine for a brief second before letting go. I sighed. I was pretty nervous about revealing my not-deadness to the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents who knew me, but as far as I knew, there was nothing that would mean that Stark or Steve or anyone were at base, considering they weren't strictly speaking on S.H.I.E.L.D's payroll. The only ones I was really worried about seeing were Natasha and Barton. Barton didn't like me much before, so I doubt he'd be overjoyed to see me again, and Natasha...well, that was just _weird_. The whole 'I-killed-your-parents-so-now-I-feel-responsible-for-the-almighty-fuck-up-you-turned-out-to-be' thing? Yeah, I don't really get that.

Our driver lead us to the reception area where he then completely abandoned us, walking off very quickly in the opposite direction (no doubt to discuss with all his other little driver friends about how disgusting we were). I scoffed at his fat back and turned back to Loki.

"So I have no idea where we're supposed to be going, so how about we just go straight into the main control room and then laugh at their 'Oh my god I've just seen a ghost and an ex-Norse deity' faces?' He chuckled (that adorable little 'eheheh' that I loved so much) and shrugged.

"You're the boss." He said and I nodded.

"Yes. Yes I am. Shall we?" I offered him my elbow and we walked off down the corridor arm in arm. I would have started skipping, except I somehow doubted Loki would join in.

The moment we walked into the Control room, everything went quiet. I swear the entire room just stopped talking, stopped whatever they were doing and swivelled around on their spinny chairs to stare at us. Fury was the last to turn around, and he surveyed Loki and me with quite a steely gaze.

"Alright, people, show's over, back to work." He announced and there was a bustle of movement as they went back to their screens, trying and failing to disguise their furtive glances over their shoulders at us. He crossed the room to us. "You two, with me." We shared a quick look before following the imposing director out of the room.

**~X~**

"Agent Lazarus. How are you holding up?" We were sat in Fury's office, and I was suddenly reminded of the time when nine-year-old me was sent to the headmaster of my school for sucker punching the school bully. I felt like the naughty schoolgirl again, sat in front of his desk with my partner in crime.

"I'm fine. Not sure how long I'm going to keep us alive with my cooking ability, but other than that I'm managing perfectly well, sir." I smiled, hoping that I just gave the right answer. I could never get a read on Fury. He was seriously intense, but had a wicked streak of humour as well – and sometimes it was difficult to differentiate between the serious and the humour.

"How about you, Loki?" Loki looked taken aback at being directly addressed, and I shot him a reassuring glance.

"I'm adjusting." He answered shortly and I kicked his shin as if to say '_Play nice!'_

"Are you now? According to my reports, you've done nothing to show that you intend to participate fully with the _human_ lifestyle apart from..._interacting_ with Lily." I felt my cheeks beginning to heat up, but suppressed the blush.

"Lily? What have you been telling him?" Loki asked me sharply and I kicked him again, even though he raised a valid point.

"I've not given him a report yet, it's not due until the end of the month...are we being _spied_ on, sir?" I asked irately.

"Agent, you can't have seriously believed that we'd leave you two entirely to your own devices. You've already shown your _weak_ spot when it comes to this guy, and while we trust that you're fully capable of handling him, questions were raised about whether we could trust that your judgement wouldn't be clouded by rose-tinted glasses." I sat back in my chair silently fuming, feeling angry tears prick at my eyes. "During the day, there has been an agent posted nearby monitoring your actions. During the night..." Fury raised an eyebrow at me and I buried my face in my hands. "We've got sound recorders situated in various places round the house." I was getting vivid mental images on grabbing something large and heavy and hurtling it at Fury. Possibly Loki. "I told you that what the pair of you get up to is of none of my concern unless it has global consequence, but you understand that at the end of the day, I've got to take responsibility for your actions. I was the one who swore you were up to it, Agent. If this arrangement ends in tears – or worse – it won't just be your ass they haul over the coals." I glared at him, not bothering to hide my anger. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that the tendons in Loki's forearm were standing out as his hand curled into a fist, and I fought the urge to reach over and grasp his hand. That sort of contact had become second nature to me, but it would just be proving Fury right.

"With all due respect, sir, I believe that is unnecessary." I said through clenched teeth.

"With all due respect, Agent, it doesn't matter what you believe. It's not your decision to make, and the surveillance will stay in place for as long as we deem it is required. You never underwent the full S.H.I.E.L.D agent training, so you let yourself get compromised." My gaze zeroed in on a glass vase stood in the corner of the room, and as I tightened my hands into fists, it shattered violently. Fury flinched as the pebbles of brightly coloured glass fell to the ground and he brushed a few from the shoulders of his leather coat.

"You're dismissed, Agent. I want you back here in two weeks' time with your emotions in check, and I expect to see a completed report on my desk then. You've already received the form; all you need to do is fill it in." I stood up brusquely, sending my chair sliding backwards across the floor noisily. I turned towards the door, not trusting myself to say anything to Fury that wouldn't get me fired and/or killed. "Hey." I stopped with my hand on the door handle, still refraining from looking at him. I mean, yes, I understand that mine and Loki's situation was _unique_ to say the least, and that as the...attraction...between the two of us was pretty much common knowledge, but you'd think that they could cut us a little slack! Or at least let the _guard_ know that _she_ was being guarded. "Cut the attitude. You know why I got to do this." I exhaled, trying to compose myself.

"If you're so distrustful of my position as Loki's sentry, perhaps you shouldn't have offered me the job in the first place. As if I needed another reason to not want to work for S.H.I.E.L.D..." I wrenched the door open and stepped out into the corridor. I heard Loki stand up to follow me but he was pulled up short.

"Loki, I'm not done with you yet, sit your ass back down." I stepped back in surprise, looking through the shrinking gap between the door and frame to see Loki turn round to me and catch my eye desperately as the door swung shut. I tried to listen to the conversation, but of course, the door was soundproofed. Marvellous. I sighed, suppressing the impulse to kick the door and sat down against the wall next to it. I brought my legs up and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees and blowing my fringe out of my face (uselessly, might I add). Yes, I could see why they had extra watchers, but why the HELL didn't they tell me? That certainly wasn't in the contract – 'We may spy on you and Loki, but don't worry, we know that you'll keep Loki in line, it's you we're worried about!'

I heard footsteps and I ducked my head, not knowing whether I was supposed to be keeping a low profile or not. The footsteps slowed and I tentatively looked up. The person stumbled back in shock, raising a shaking hand to their mouth. Oh. Crap.

"Hey, Natasha." I said tiredly. Her eyes were impossibly wide, and I dragged myself up off the floor.

"Bu-but..." Wow. Speechless. Is there not a bit in the S.H.I.E.L.D handbook about 'How to react when someone you thought was dead shows up because they're not dead after all?'

"Yes, yes, I'm not dead, it's a long story, I don't understand most of it, but the long and short of it is now I'm Agent Lazarus and I work for S.H.I.E.L.D, albeit begrudgingly." She blinked a couple of times, clearly having difficulty processing the situation.

"So...hang on, Agent Lazarus? You're guarding Loki?" I frowned slightly.

"So they told everyone that Agent Lazarus was guarding Loki but didn't tell everyone who Agent Lazarus was? Man, these people are messed up." I answered casually. She smiled, relaxing slightly.

"Where is he, then?" I pointed over my shoulder at Fury's office door.

"We had to come here for a meeting thingy and Fury basically told me he had spies around our house watching ME to make sure that I wasn't going to have an emotional breakdown or something." She frowned sympathetically. "So how come you've been summoned?" I asked.

"I'm getting a new assignment from the director. He never usually plans for meetings to overlap, so I'm guessing the two of you are running late?"

"You guess right. We didn't wake up until half an hour before the car was supposed to arrive and then...started some sort of mini prank war." _Face, don't you dare start blushing_. Natasha laughed.

"I don't think I could stand living with Loki for any amount of time for that reason alone, never mind his general asshole-ness." I grinned.

"I don't know how I survived this long without going mad, he really is infuriating."

"I think I know how you've survived it." She raised an eyebrow at me and this time, there was nothing that could stop the heat rising in my cheeks. She smirked. "It's good to have you on the team, Lily. However strange the circumstances of your survival may be, I'm glad you're not dead."

"Funnily enough, so am I." We smiled and the door behind us opened as Loki walked out, a small frown creasing his forehead. He saw Natasha first and a cruel smile played across his lips, the type of smile that was oh-so-familiar on his face when I first met him, but that I hadn't seen in a long time. I rolled my eyes.

"Agent Romanoff." He said with over-the-top politeness. She scoffed, trying and failing to hide her discomfort.

"Loki." She answered shortly. She turned back to me. "It was nice to see you, Lily. I would say I'd drop by sometimes, but..." Her eyes flicked to the ex-God and I nodded. "I'll get your number out of Fury, and you can call me or whatever if you need to." She slipped into the office as the door shut. Loki looked at me, slightly bemused.

"Why are you on such good terms with the woman who killed your family?" He questioned.

"Why am I on such good terms with the man who killed _me_?" I retorted.

"Oooh, touché." I grabbed his elbow and started pulling him down the corridor.

"Let's get out of here." He removed my hand from his elbow and dropped it after squeezing it briefly.

"Gladly." We walked past the reception and saw the driver waiting for us. I stopped, feeling in my pockets for any money. I had my card; that would have to do.

"Your services aren't required, Agent. We can make our own way home." I smiled at him in a sickly sweet way and he walked off, not bothering to answer. "Dick." I muttered. Loki and I left the building and I suddenly remembered the expression on his face when he left Fury's office. "What did Fury want?" The frown returned and he avoided looking at me, focussing instead on his shoes.

"Nothing of consequence." I started to protest, but he raised his hand. "Lily. I do not want to talk about it right now, and it does not concern you, so leave it." I nodded dumbly and he sighed. "Come on. I hope you don't intend for us to walk the entire way home." I laughed, but it was forced. Loki's refusal to talk about what Fury told him was making me nervous, and I didn't like feeling nervous.

**I bet you can't guess what Fury said to Loki. But review anyway. I'll give you a puppy!  
This chapter is dedicated to Esther Earl, a nerdfighter who lost her battle with cancer around two years ago. August 3rd (today) is her birthday, and it will be known as Esther Day for as long as Nerdfighteria exists. She would've been 18 today****. In her memory, go up to someone who you love, but don't tell them so often enough and say 'I love you'. Life is too short. **

**THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT. #DFTBA**


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

**In which trolling and decorating occurs... I know much about trolling, but little about decorating, so yeah. THE GAME. (and I am also sorry for not updating in a while I started watching Supernatural and watched seven episodes in one day and I can't decide who is sexier out of Sam and Dean and I will try to update again on Friday).**

I paid the cab driver as Loki climbed out of the car and waited for me on the curb. The cabbie drove off and I started walking with him down the road. We were dropped off ten minutes away from home because...well, I don't know. It was Loki's idea. I debated trying to slip my hand into his, but I decided that that would be too cutesy couple-y for us (as we were neither cutesy nor couple-y 90 percent of the time). I shoved my hands in my pockets to reduce the temptation, which wasn't very effective, unfortunately.

"So, Loki. What shall we do today?"

"Each other." He quipped and I punched him in the stomach lightly. Well, I thought it was gentle, but I'm stronger than I used to be, and he's weaker. He winced and rubbed where my fist had connected with his abdomen and I bit my lip.

"Sorry." I said sheepishly. He rolled his eyes and jabbed me in the arm. "Seriously though. Fury said that you weren't doing enough to adjust so...what do you say to repainting the living room?" He frowned at me, tilting his head.

"Do I look like I'm the sort of person who would paint walls?"

"Nope, but you're going to do it anyway. It hardly takes any artistic talent, and that beige colour is horrible. It'll be fun!" I pleaded.

"I don't see how it could be called fun..."

"You'll never know unless you try!" He sighed, but didn't otherwise respond. I pouted at him. "Please, Loki. I'll even let you choose the colour!" He glared at me, but his eyes were warm – I don't think I was ever going to get used to him being pleasant.

"Fine." He agreed and I jumped on his back in celebration. His hands curled round my knees instinctively as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders from behind. He looked at me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Go horsie! Go!" I shouted, pointing down the road that led to the town centre. "We must buy paint and brushes and stuff!" He just stared at me as if I had just said, 'I'm a unicorn, hear me roar!' or something equally insane. "Loki. Walk." In way of answer, he let go of me and I fell flat on my ass. "Owwwww!" I whined. He laughed, but offered me a hand up, and we walked off in search of decorating equipment. I didn't have any experience in painting walls. This could be interesting.

**~X~**

"I knew you'd buy green, it was just a matter of what shade." I informed Loki as we stepped into the hallway laden with bags of paint, brushes, rollers, and a bunch of other things the sales assistant told us we'd need. I wasn't convinced about half of it, but hey, it's all on S.H.I.E.L.D's bill and none of my concern.

"Naturally." He grunted as he set down his bags – I'd made him carry the majority of them, it was the gentlemanly thing to do, after all. "Where are we going to put the furniture?"

"Um...garage? There's only a couple of sofas, the table, the TV and stand and a couple of lamps, isn't there?" He nodded. "We can spread that big plastic sheet over the carpet. Do we have a ladder?"

"There may be one in the garage, but if not, we will have to go buy one...that you'll undoubtedly make me carry." He elbowed me and I raised my hands in defence.

"You're the man, it's your job! And we won't need to buy one, I'm certain I saw one outside the house a few doors down, we can ask to borrow it." He looked doubtful. "What? Never borrowed stuff off your neighbours before?"

"No, I haven't, I lived in a palace." I pressed my lips together. That was a bit stupid of me to forget that...

"Well, yeah...besides, we've been living here for two weeks and haven't introduced ourselves yet, it's rude!"

"You can do the introducing." He scoffed and I rolled my eyes.

"Right, we'll clear the room and then have something to eat before we get started, deal?" He nodded, and we set to work. Well...I say we. It mainly consisted of me using my telekinesis thingy to move everything to the front door and then us holding it as I zapped it into the garage – we couldn't advertise that I had magical moving powers, but that didn't mean I couldn't use them. Once the room was empty, we rolled the plastic sheet out and put tape around the skirting boards so we wouldn't spill paint onto them. After that, Loki made us a well deserved cup of tea while I put together a couple of toasted sandwiches (BLT toastie for him, cheese for me). We sat down at the kitchen table and ate in near silence. I swallowed my mouthful and looked up at him. "Are you going to come with me to get the ladder?" We'd already established that we didn't own one. He swallowed and looked at me.

"I have no experience with _neighbours_, I think it's best that you do it."

"That's the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard in my life." I objected, but he simply shrugged. "Fine, I'll get it myself, but while I'm gone you can do the washing up." He pulled a face. "That's the deal, Loki-poo. Take it or leave it. Besides, I'm not even supposed to leave you on your own, but now I know about OUR LITTLE SPIES," I raised my voice in a way of saying FUCK YOU to Fury, "...I don't feel so bad about it. So...deal or no deal?"

"Deal." He mumbled. I wiped my mouth and finished the left mouthful of tea as I stood up (no salt in it this time, thank God).

"Good. Behave yourself. Won't be long." I ruffled his hair as I passed, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him, holding me against his chest.

"You had better not be long, or I'll start feeling the urge to be...mischievous." I smirked and pushed him away.

"Course you will, sweetheart. Washing up liquid's in the cupboard under the sink." I called over my shoulder as I left the house. I wandered down the pavement, feeling unjustifiably nervous. I wasn't sure whether my anxiety was due to leaving Loki on his own or my upcoming interaction with other people (bearing in mind that in the past six months, my main interaction had been with Asgardians and S.H.I.E.L.D agents). I crossed the road and stepped up to the door of number 17, knocking three times on the dark wood. A woman who was probably about the same age that Loki appeared to be opened the door, looking tired and carrying a toddler on her hip. I smiled. Time to be charming!

"Hi there! I moved into number 26 a couple of weeks back." She nodded, looking slightly mistrustful. "I was just wondering if you've got a ladder I could borrow for a couple of days? We're redecorating our living room and we don't have one..." She studied me for a few seconds before smiling and nodding.

"Let me just put the little one in his playpen and I'll be right out." I grinned.

"Thank you!" I shuffled back down the path a little while she disappeared down the hallway and came back sans the small child. She wiped her hands on her trousers and offered one to me.

"My name is Amber. Small stuff back there is Thomas." I shook her hand.

"I'm Lily." She let go and led the way round to her garage.

"Who's the bloke who I've seen round your house a couple of times?" I sincerely hoped she was referring to Loki and not whoever was spying on us.

"The tall, handsome one with dark hair?" She nodded, smirking. "That's Loki. We're...house mates." She noticed my hesitation and looked round at me as she unlocked the garage door.

"Complicated, huh?" I nodded and helped her pull the door up. "Trust me, I know all about complicated, hon. Tom's dad Reece is pretty much the definition of complicated." I grinned.

"Aren't all blokes the same?" Amber nodded, fumbling for a light switch on the wall. A flickering bulb turned on and she stepped inside, sliding a tricycle across the floor with her foot.

"I doubt the big ladder in the alley will be much use to you, but I've got a step ladder around here somewhere..." She returned a minute later holding a paint splattered set of steps that would certainly add a few feet onto my height, and hopefully mean that I could reach to do all the painting.

"That's great! Thanks so much – we moved here on quite short notice, so we weren't hugely prepared." She waved away my gratitude as I took hold of the ladder under my arm.

"It's fine – just bring it back when you're done with it."

"I'll try to get it back to you in a couple of days, but it depends how much of it I have to do myself – Loki's really lazy."

"Interesting name...is he foreign?" I smirked.

"You could say that."

"I get it, complicated, right?" I nodded. "Well, when you bring the ladder back, bring him over too and we can share a pot of tea or something. I've been living here for three years now, yet I never talk or anything with my neighbours." I bit my lip.

"Loki isn't exactly the most sociable of people...in fact, he's downright anti-social, but I'll see what I can do." I stopped at the gate. "Well, it was lovely meeting you, and thanks again for the ladder."

"No problem, and you too." I waved as I jogged back across the road and to my front door. I pushed it open and stepping into the hallway, propping the steps up against the wall and kicking my shoes off.

"You took your time." Loki remarked, leaning against the kitchen doorframe with his arms folded.

"I was being polite, and she's really easy to talk to. She's invited us over for tea when we take the ladder back."

"Oh joy." I frowned at him.

"Loki...you will come with me when I take the ladder back and you will be a very gracious visitor to her house, okay?" He rolled his eyes and I pointed at him threateningly. "There's nothing wrong with being friendly with your neighbours, they can be very helpful. She's got a young son too, so you'll have to behave yourself."

"A young son?" I could hear the repulsion in his voice and sighed, tying my hair back in a messy bun.

"Right, well, we'll discuss that later. For now, we've got decorating to do. I'll do the white wall and you can make a start on the green over by the window, okay?" He grinned suddenly. "Oh God, what are you planning?"

"Nothing. Come on." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me through to the living room, where he'd already set out the pots of paint on the floor. I grabbed a roller, tray and a pot of white paint and stood in front of the wall opposite to the window. I turned around and saw Loki cracking a pot of green paint open and grinned. So much for 'I don't paint walls'. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and clicked onto a random playlist. Turning the volume up, I got to work.

**~X~**

I had painted about half of my wall when I felt eyes on me. I turned around to see Loki staring at me.

"What?"

"You're dancing."

"So what?" And it's true. I was dancing. A little bit. Maybe. It was a good song! I looked at Loki's wall to see that he'd finished doing around the window and was moving onto the adjacent surface now. I carried on painting (and dancing), but about a minute later, I felt hands on my hips. I whirled around as Loki pried the roller out of my hand and set it down in the tray. He took my hands, and to my surprise, started dancing around with me. I mean. Seriously. I was dancing with the (sort of) God of Mischief to Chameleon Circuit, of all things. I laughed as he dipped me and brought me back up...and screamed.

"HEY!" As he brought me back up, Loki had grabbed his paintbrush and planted a blob of green on my cheek. I grabbed his wrist and forced the paintbrush in his hand back towards his face. He leant back as far as he could away from the paintbrush, but ended up completely losing his balance and falling over, pulling me down with him. I seized the opportunity to put paint on his face. I mean, you can't repaint a room without having a paint war, can you? He growled at me and I slid the paintbrush out of his reach. I noticed that I was still lying on top of him, and then we both got distracted by each other's lips for a while.

When we finally broke apart, I had my back pressed to the floor and my hands up his shirt. Ooops.

"We were working, you know." I commented drily, trying (and failing) to ignore my tingling lips.

"So we were." I looked at him pointedly until he rolled off me with a groan. We both lay on our back on the plastic sheet on the floor, not quite touching, while we regained control of our breathing. After a few minutes, I sighed, standing up and brushing myself down. I poked the now dry paint on my cheek and rolled my eyes. I nudged Loki with a foot.

"Come on, get up." He raised an eyebrow, and it took all my restraint not to just kiss him again and throw my inhibitions completely out of the window. I purposely turned my back on him to minimise the temptation and picked up my roller again.

**~X~**

"Okay, enough. I swear I'm high of the paint fumes. We can finish it tomorrow." I put the roller into the tray and carried it outside to the tap. I rinsed them off and left them on the doorstep to dry. I took the roller, brush and tray that Loki held out and did the same with them. I shook the excess water off my hands in his general direction and he swatted my hands away. I grinned and walked past him into the house. I had a quick shower – I lost count of how many times Loki and I had started throwing paint at each other – and got changed into a huge t shirt and shorts. Pulling a brush through my hair, I ran down the stairs and found Loki in the kitchen wearing trousers and nothing else, towel drying his hair. I blushed involuntarily and he smirked. Dammit. As I walked past him, I grabbed one of his shirts from the top of the ironing basket and threw it at him.

"I don't walk around the house shirtless at 8pm, so you aren't allowed to either."

"I wouldn't complain if you took up the habit, Lily." He retorted, but conceded to putting the shirt on. I looked at the cooker and decided that no, that was not happening.

"I'm ordering takeaway, I can't be bothered to cook. Pizza?" He nodded and I grabbed the phone. I ordered a large margarita – I didn't eat much and he ate loads, so it would be enough for the two of us. If he wanted meat on his share, then there was pepperoni and ham in the fridge – he couldn't complain!

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. I yawned from my chair at the table and held a twenty out to Loki.

"Go get that, will you?" He looked alarmed. "It's the pizza guy, you just need to go get the pizza and pay him. Make sure you get change, but leave him a small tip." He sighed but stood up, pushing my feet off the table where they were leaning as he walked past. I flipped his back the finger, and put my feet back up. I listened in to the exchange of Loki and the pizza delivery guy in case he got confused, but he shut the door and arrived back in the kitchen burdened with glorious pizza. Hooray!

**~X~**

By 10pm, we were both tiredly sat in the kitchen, exchanging a few words, but nothing more. I was thumbing through the TV listings in a magazine and a film caught my eye. I remembered a certain scene in that film and a grin spread across my face. Loki saw it and raised an eyebrow. I grabbed his collar and brought him close to me so I could whisper in his ear. When I let him go, my grin was mirrored on his face. Wordlessly, I took his hand and led him up the stairs to his room. Just outside his door, I pulled him in to a kiss. He grinned and shut the door behind us.

To anyone standing outside out room (and therefore to whoever was monitoring the sound relays), what ensued would sound exactly like very loud, very energetic sex. There was moaning, groaning, grunting and screaming, along with banging on the walls and squeaking of bedsprings.

In actual fact, Loki and I were jumping on the bed, hitting the walls with our fists and making 'sex noises' in between fits of giggles. After about twenty minutes of this, we collapsed on the bed, completely breathless.

"My sides hurt from laughing so much." I muttered as we tried to catch our breath. He chuckled and rolled over onto his side to face me.

"Do you reckon they bought it?" He asked.

"I don't know, but that was definitely the best fun I've had in a while." I laughed. To be honest, I really didn't care whether S.H.I.E.L.D thought we just had wild monkey sex or not (although that was the intention). If they were going to invade our privacy, I wanted them to feel as uncomfortable as possible in doing so.

"You think that was fun, wait until you actually have sex." Loki murmured and I punched his shoulder.

"One, what makes you so sure that I haven't had sex in the past? And two..." I moved closer to him so I could whisper in his ear without S.H.I.E.L.D hearing. "...we've come pretty close before, but if I remember correctly, you're the one who stopped us every time." I went to move away slightly, but his hand grabbed my elbow and stopped me.

"I have my own reasons for not having had sex with you yet. Don't take that to mean that I don't want to." He hissed. He sounded angry, and a shiver went down my spine at the tone of his voice. I did the first thing that came to mind to placate him. I kissed him. And then some more. And then a bit more. And after that...

**The whole 'fake sex' thing is of course based on the scene from Easy A. No copyright infringement intended – and that applies to the whole story.  
Dear god. I just realised I've spent three chapters – and over 8000 words – on **_**one**_** day. Oh well. Lots of people wanted to see the painting scene, so naturally I had to write it. Hope you liked it, and it'll start getting interesting in the next chapter (in theory). Reviewers win...a definite reply. I know I said I wasn't going to reply to all the reviews I get, but it feels weird and mean...so from now on, I'll try my best to :)  
Also, Jen made a Hiddles video over on our channel. Check it out – TheExplodingLlamas.**


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

**While in the process of procrastinating about writing this chapter, I put an incredibly terrifying of me mouthing/dancing to I Believe in A Thing Called Love by The Darkness on YouTube. I think this is probably a more productive pastime. And probably less terror-inducing.  
Also, I'm trying to make this story quite well-rounded, and ergo...a subplot emerges! This subplot would've been a fully fledged story on its own if I had more ideas, and you'd be reading that rather than this sequel if I had! Introducing...**

**~Natasha POV~**

I sat opposite Fury, not quite believing what I was hearing.

"You can't be serious."

"I can and I am, Agent Romanoff. Do you have an issue with what I'm asking you to do?" I swallowed, my professional facade clicking back into place.

"Of course not, sir. I'm just surprised that you'd ask someone like me to do a job...like _that_. It's hardly my area of expertise." I cleared my throat, attempting to process the information.

"Agent, we wouldn't have considered you if we didn't think you were up for the job." Fury's eye bore into me and I resisted the impulse to look away.

"It's not that I don't believe I'm up for the job, I just thought that I wasn't really..."

"I see. You think you're too valuable as a spy or assassin to be able to do this job." I blinked. Now that he mentioned it... "If you're needed in another role, we can find you a temporary replacement, but currently, this is your job for the foreseeable future." I sighed inwardly and nodded. "Doctor Banner will be accompanying you, as this is an invaluable opportunity to gather more information about the technology we can expect from other worlds, although he may not stay for the entire duration of the sentence."

"So I'll be living with an Asgardian convict and a man with serious anger management issues. No problem." I forced a smile and he nodded.

"If you come across difficulties with the situation, we can rethink, but I'm perfectly comfortable with leaving him in your more than capable hands."

"Sir, I have a question." He raised an eyebrow, which I took as an indication to go ahead. "I saw Lily Girling outside, and passed Loki on my way in here. I presume that Loki and...my _charge_...will have to be kept far apart?"

"You presume correct. Loki is aware of what your job is – who you are supervising – and I've made it clear to him that any attempt of his to contact him will not have favourable consequences for either of them."

"Am I allowed to contact Lily?" I asked anxiously. I was keen to build bridges with her, especially now she had the potential to be an extraordinarily powerful ally.

"You may, but you must only speak to her. I'll put her number in with your information pack. You'll find it in your apartment when you return, and we've earmarked next Friday to be the start of the arrangement." I rolled my eyes slightly – S.H.I.E.L.D seriously have no issues with invading personal space. I feel sorry for Lily and Loki; they were practically _together_ and being spied on. Awkward. "You're free to leave." I nodded and stood up. "And Natasha?" I turned around quickly at his use of my Christian name as opposed to 'Agent' or 'Romanoff'. "Thank you for being so agreeable." I smiled and left. The moment I left the building, I got out my personal phone (that I had ensured _wasn't_ bugged by S.H.I.E.L.D) and punched in a number. Fury knew me well enough to know who I would call the moment I got out of earshot, and he hadn't said anything against it, so I saw no reason to not do so.

"Robin Hood here, speaking?" A familiar voice sounded down the phone, and I laughed.

"Hey, Clint." I smiled.

"Tasha, hey! What can I do you for, beautiful?" I couldn't stop the blush, and was REALLY glad he couldn't see me.

"I just thought I'd call to let you know that I've got a new assignment, starting next Friday." I studied my fingernails absentmindedly as I walked along the road, in no real hurry to get anywhere.

"Oh really? What might that be?" The thing with Clint was that _anything_ he said could be misconstrued as him flirting. Most of the time, it wasn't misconstrued at all – around me, at least, he was HORRENDOUSLY flirty. That really didn't help my..._shut up, Natasha_.

"Do you remember when Loki made it through here last time, and Lily told us that he said some guy called Koli had helped him? Koli was put on trial in Asgard just after Loki, and found guilty. He's been given the same sentence as Loki, and guess who's the lucky bastard he's been assigned to?" I sighed.

"You're babysitting this Koli dude?" I nodded, before remembering that I was on the phone, and he couldn't actually see me.

"In essence, yeah. His sentence isn't as long as Loki's...but for the next five years, I'm pretty much out of action. Fury said that if a situation arose, he could find a temporary replacement for my babysitting duties, but..." Clint knew me better than anyone.

"Go ahead, Tasha. Vent it all, I can tell you want to."

"I don't see why me of all people! I'm far too highly trained for something like this! There are hundreds of people who S.H.I.E.L.D keep on the shelf, why can't one of them do it?" My voice was rapidly increasing in volume, and I had to remind myself that I couldn't very well go spouting off about a secret organisation in the middle of the street. "What if something else happens, and they can't get someone to cover for me in time? Do I bring him along on a leash? I'm not good with people, Clint – I'm more likely to turn him ten times more homicidal than force him to see the errors of his ways!"

"It's a load of bullcrap, Tash, but you just gotta take it, I suppose. If you refuse, you'll be stuck on a desk job until you're old and grey." I sighed.

"I know that...doesn't mean I have to like it, though." I sounded like a moody teenager, but I was beyond caring, and besides, this was _Clint_. He'd seen me at my worse and beyond.

"Tell you what. I'm sure I can leave what I'm doing tonight – how about we go out? I'll be round your place for seven, alright?" His words brought a smile to my face instantaneously.

"I'd like that."

"I know." His voice was suggestive and I laughed. "See you later."

"Bye." He had already hung up. I slipped my phone into my pocket and sped up into a jog. It certainly was annoying being...attracted...to your best friend and colleague, particularly when said friend and colleague was a natural flirt. Sometimes, when lying awake at night, I couldn't help but wonder whether his flirting was anything other than innocent. That, of course, led me to thinking...if his flirting actually _meant_ something, what would my response be?

**~Lily POV~**

The next morning was just the same as every other for the past two weeks. Granted, I was sprawled across Loki's bare chest sans my t-shirt today, but apart from that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Except for one thing.

When I woke up, Loki was already awake.

I know, I was worried too.

"Loki? How long have you been up?" I looked up at him blearily, suppressing a yawn. One of his hands was absentmindedly running through my hair, which was rather nice (and distracting...goddammit hormones, get in line! Just because I'm lying on top of an 80 percent naked sexy beast...wait...hey! 80 percent naked sexy beast!)

"Couple of hours, give or take. I had trouble sleeping last night." I pulled a sympathetic face at him and he shook his head. "I've had many sleepless nights in the past, Lily. There's no problem." I nodded, not wanting to push it.

"What time is it?" He reached over my head, picked up my phone from the bedside table and handed it to me.

"It was buzzing during the night. I didn't want to impose." I grinned.

"You mean you couldn't work out how to shut it up." His lips tightened and I giggled. I lit it up, eyes widening in surprise when I realised that I was AWAKE at 9am, and saw that I had two texts from an unknown number. I clicked onto them.

_02:03AM: Hi, it's Natasha. Here's my number, obviously._

_02:10AM: Give me a call, I wanna keep you in the loop about what I'm doing now._

I frowned. That was..cryptic? And quite strange... I heard Loki sigh, and moved my head up his chest so I could see him. He was reading the texts over my shoulder.

"Nosy." I said, poking his nose. He grabbed my hand, his eyes stony. "Woah, calm down...what's got you grumpy all of a sudden. He jabbed my phone.

"That." Before I could react, he shuffled out from under me and stalked off to his en suite. I lay there for a few seconds, slightly dazed, before deciding that he needed tea, and I may as well get on with that. I slid out of his bed and stumbled through to my own to find a shirt and then headed for the kitchen and kettle, pulling the shirt on as I went. While I waited for the kettle to boil, I called Natasha. The phone rang several times, and I was about to hang up when it was answered.

"Hello?" A tired voice said.

"Hey, Natasha, it's Lily." I heard scrambling noises and a crackling noise – I'm guessing she put her hand over the microphone to speak to whoever she was sharing her bed with, I'm not stupid.

"Hi, sorry about that...I wasn't expecting you to phone until later." She sounded slightly breathless.

"Is it a bad time? I can call back this afternoon if you want?"

"No it's fine, I just..." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I don't know if Loki told you about this already – Fury told him to, at least, but..." and she proceeded to tell me about _her_ assignment. With each passing second, I could feel my heart speeding up.

"You mean...Koli's coming to Earth too?" I couldn't even imagine my reaction if I saw him. That back-stabbing bastard...I mean, what Loki had done was worse, but that was to be expected of him – I knew that it was always a possibility that he'd fuck with my head (and fuck with my head he did...) but with Koli, I had no idea of his betrayal until Loki told me of it.

"Next Friday. His sentence is only for five years, but as with Loki, that will be extended due to bad behaviour etc. I'm certain that Fury will house us over the other side of the country, but still, I figured I should tell you, seeing as Fury couldn't be bothered...if I'm honest, I thought Loki would let you know." I gritted my teeth.

"No. He came out of Fury's office yesterday with a face like thunder, but refused to say why. Thanks for letting me know, Natasha." She mmmed in response, and I decided to take the plunge. "So, who are you with?" I could almost hear her blinking in shock down the phone.

"Who am I...what do you mean?" She sounded a little flustered – really Natasha, didn't your training teach you better?

"Oh come on, I know the sounds of making a speedy exit from the bedroom when I hear them." I grinned as she chuckled.

"You caught me. Clint stayed over last night."

"Oooooh, did he now?" I teased.

"It's completely platonic, Lily. I don't have a spare room or a couch, so we shared the bed. It's no big deal, we've done it before."

"Why were you in such a hurry to get away from him when you answered the phone then?"

"He doesn't know you're still alive. I think Fury's planning for you to be our secret weapon or something like that, so I didn't want to tell him, or have him overhear the conversation."

"Fair enough then, but be honest...platonic? I don't think so, not with that amount of sexual tension between the two of you." I poured boiling water into two mugs as I spoke, trying to juggle the kettle and my phone without dropping either of them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered airily.

"Sure you don't Nat. You can't tell me that you haven't noticed his good looks and general sexiness. I mean, I noticed them, and I only met him _after _I met Loki." I looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. I waved and pointed to his mug, which now contained a perfectly made cup of tea. He gave me a strange look as he crossed the room, his hair looking adorably damp and dishevelled.

"What is going on with you and Loki, anyway?" She was trying to change the subject. Unlikely.

"It's complicated, and stop deflecting. I want answers." She sighed.

"Yes, I have noticed his 'good looks and general sexiness', but that doesn't mean anything. Ever heard of the phrase window shopping?" I picked up my mug and took a sip.

"Window shopping is just code for 'I _like_ like them, but I can't admit it, so I'll just say I'm admiring the scenery from a distance'. Go for it, Nat. You're hot, he won't complain." Loki looked downright confused now. I should imagine that alarm bells were ringing in his head – 'FEMALE GOSSIP ALERT, MISSION ABORT!'

"Thanks for the advice, but I'm sure I'll manage. I have to go now, but it was nice talking to you. I can't remember the last time I had a mostly normal conversation with another human being, never mind another female." I grinned.

"Don't mention it, Nat. Talk soon, laters." I hung up and dropped my phone on the counter.

"What was all that about?" Loki asked. I rounded on him, poking his chest.

"I am mad at you." I announced. He frowned. "Didn't you think it was worth telling me that Koli was coming to Earth? How the hell was I supposed to make sure you two stayed apart if I didn't know he was here? Tasha told me that Fury told you to tell me, and you didn't, dick!" I jabbed his chest again before walking through to the living room, grabbing a croissant and my mug on the way. I poured some paint into a tray (that Loki must have brought in from outside), and started where I left off yesterday, painting one handed while eating with the other. I felt a hand on my waist, and Loki plucked the roller from my hand. He turned me around and...well, glared at me.

"I was going to tell you, but considering that I hardly want my span on Earth prolonged unnecessarily, the fact that he's coming here hardly matters. I dislike him anyway; he was just a means to an end – why would I go looking for him?" I snatched the roller back and continued painting. He sighed and left the room, leaving me to take all my frustrations out on the wall. I doubted that I could be mad at him for long, but while I was, it allowed me to think about my situation without the rose tinted spectacles. Twenty years with him, and then he'd leave for Asgard. I'd spend twenty years of my life with someone I knew was going to leave me anyway. It was a harsh reality, but one I neither could nor wanted to escape. Twenty years with him...it was still twenty years.

**~X~**

I took Amber the ladder back the next day, saying that Loki was ill, and that we'd have to take a rain check on the tea. She seemed fine about it, saying that Tom's dad was due round anyway, and gave me her number so we could organise a time at a later date. Loki had descended into a foul mood, and I really wanted to get out of the house to escape it, but of course, I couldn't. Fury had neglected to tell me the downtime procedure, and I didn't really fancy calling him and asking about it. Loki's sulk continued for the rest of the week – he spent most of the day in his room, and I only saw him briefly in the mornings when he came on a tea hunt, and even more briefly in the evenings when he came to collect the plate of food that I prepared before disappearing again. I spent the solitude ordering more things for the house – while it was quite well stocked, there were things that it was lacking, such as books. I have never ordered so many books before in my life. It felt really good, but as I signed for yet another parcel, I couldn't help but wish Loki was talking to me. I had gotten over my fit of anger with him after a day, but he was refusing to speak to me, and I avoided him just to avoid his temper. On the sixth day, however, I had had enough.

"Loki?" I knocked on his closed door, bringing with me a peace offering – tea. There was no response, so I knocked again. "Loki, open the door, or I will just come straight in, whether you're decent or not." I heard a familiar exasperated sigh and the door swung open, revealing a very tired looking Loki wearing tracksuit bottoms and nothing else. I held out the cup and he took it, shutting the door again, but I shoved my foot in the gap. "Enough of this." He glowered at me, but released his hold on the door and sat back on his bed. I stepped in cautiously, noticing how in the six days since I'd last been in his room, it had become a complete pigsty. Dirty plates littered the windowsill, clothes and underwear scattered the floor and a general smell hung in the air. I wrinkled my nose and went to open the window, trying to avoid as much of the laundry as possible. I piled up the plates and mugs and turned back to him. "Get together all your laundry, and get it in the wash." He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Loki. This has gone on long enough, and I'm sick of it. You can either talk to me about it, or so help me, I will call Fury and get you moved." His eyebrows shot up and I nodded. "Laundry. Washing machine. Now." He sighed, nodding begrudgingly and I left, carrying the crockery to the dishwasher and shoving it in. I turned it to the highest setting and switched it on. Loki walked past me behind a mountain of clothing on his way to the utility room and I shook my head, smiling. I went to sit down in the living room (which now only had a lingering smell of paint), and waited for him to join me. He sat down cautiously next to me, frowning. I raised my eyebrows, indicating he should start talking. Or apologising. Preferably both.

"I don't really want to talk through all my demons with you, but rest assured, I will." He said stiffly. I took his face between my palms, telling my eyes to focus on his eyes, not his still naked chest.

"Fine. Just start _talking_ to me. I'm not your enemy, Loki. Yes, I was pissed at you, but I never wanted you to hermit in your room for a week." His mouth was still set in a tight line, and I gave up on conversation. I'd never been that good with words anyway. I put my lips to a different use...one that was certainly more enjoyable...and Loki responded hungrily. In a brief pause in the kissing, I pressed my lips to his forehead. "Missed you." I mumbled. He just kissed me again, and if I'm honest, I really wasn't complaining.

**Little bit of plot, drama should start in the next one! Reviewers win...my gratitude. That'll do for now, it's really late, and my brain isn't up to thinking of anything more interesting to offer you beautiful people.  
And I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Rather than pressuring myself into updating every other day, I'm going to attempt to make some sort of schedule...how does every Tuesday and Friday sound? If I decide to go ahead with that posting schedule, I know that Jen won't let me forget about it, so what do you guys think?**


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

**My plan is to start introducing the drama component of the story in this chapter. Then again, how often do I stick to my plans? I mean, originally I was going to do a Natasha/OC story, and the twist would be that the OC was in fact Koli, who people who read Jailbait would've recognised...but then I didn't. Never mind.**

**And this chapter establishes my own personal mythology, which is based on various books I've read within that sort of genre and my own brain. Watch out, this could be even more dangerous than entering the realms of canon.**

**~Natasha POV~**

I fumbled with my door key and cursed as one of the shopping bags split, spilling its contents everywhere. I managed to get the door open, and gathered together the groceries before going in.

"Honey, I'm home." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. I felt several of the bags being lifted from my arms, and smiled at Bruce over the top of the stack of shopping that I was clutching to my chest. "Thanks doc."

"Don't mention it." He smiled, his eyes twinkling as he led the way through to the kitchen. I had to admit, for a man with a green monster of suppressed rage, he was _awfully_ nice. And cuddly. Well, he looked cuddly. I personally wasn't a cuddler, but if I was, I'm sure that I'd hug him at whatever opportunity I got, because he really was one of the most genuinely nice men I've ever met, even with his slightly (okay, considerably) less pleasant alter ego. We unpacked the supplies in comfortable silence, and I realised with a grin that this was the most _domestic_ my life had ever been. Well, apart from the grumpy and solitary Asgardian lurking upstairs.

"Is he still...?" Bruce nodded, shooting a look at the stairs. "He's been here two weeks, and I swear we've only seen him for a couple of hours. What do you reckon he's doing up there?" He shrugged.

"As long as he's not plotting world domination, then we don't really have anything to worry about." I snorted.

"Well, he's got to eat. I'll cook some pasta for dinner, and tell him that if he wants it, he can damn well come down here to get it." He smiled gently before backing out of the room into his little office. During our first couple of days here, Koli had cooperated enough to answer Bruce's many questions to the best of his ability, and it had certainly given him food for thought. I heard the TV, and deduced that Bruce was watching the news before tuning out and focussing on my current task. It may sound odd to say that Black Widow, assassin extraordinaire, thoroughly enjoyed cooking, but I assure you that it's true. I was contentedly dicing vegetables when I heard Bruce call through to me.

"Natasha? Come and have a look at this." He sounded worried. I set down the knife and found him leaning forward in front of the TV, and I went to sit next to him, wiping my hands on my jeans.

"_This is the fourth body found in three days. All the victims have presented with the same injuries, and the FBI have confirmed that the cause of death in all four cases was severe blood loss. In a statement earlier today, a spokesperson confirmed that they were looking into this being the work of a serial killer, but as of yet, they have had no major leads. They request that anyone with information that may help with the case should call their hotline. Several more people have been reported missing, and at this point, their disappearances have not been ruled out as being connected to the deaths._

I shot a look at Bruce. "Why are you so interested in this, Doc? People show up dead all the time." He shook his head.

"Look at the injuries." I turned my attention back to the TV, where they were showing some pictures from the Forensics team. The only visible injuries were four holes on the neck in a sort of trapezium shape – each hole was probably about a pencil's width. I frowned, scanning the rest of the bodies. What flesh could be seen was unearthly pale, but showed no other sign of harm.

"Some sort of vampire fetish?" I guessed, and Bruce shrugged.

"I don't know. But it seems...off. It's too...I don't know, definitely more sinister than just a couple of kids who've read Twilight a few too many times." I stood up.

"Call S.H.I.E.L.D if you want to, but I'm sure they'll already be aware of it. As ironic as it may be, Fury's got eyes everywhere." Bruce chuckled, and I went back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. He and I took it in turns preparing food, but I would've been perfectly happy doing it myself every day. Twenty minutes later, I dished up the pasta and dumped a pile of sauce on top. "Dinner's ready." I called, smiling at Bruce as he sat at the table and pulled his bowl towards him. I had already switched the TV on in the kitchen, and the news channel was running an extended feature on the deaths. What pleasant dinnertime viewing. I could hear no noise from upstairs, so, sighing, I went up to the landing outside our unwilling guest's room.

"Koli, get your ass down these stairs or I will throw it down them." No response. "I'm serious. We've barely seen you at all, so get down to the kitchen, there's food on the table." I heard a groan from inside his room – at least he was still alive, then. "I know you're in there, so get out here in the next two minutes or I'm coming in for you." He started mumbling something that I'm fairly certain was the Asgardian equivalent of 'fuck off, you crazy bitch', but I waited outside the door with my arms folded and my foot tapping until it opened, revealing a surly man who was probably at least half a foot taller than myself and who was glaring at me. He also wasn't wearing a shirt. "Get dressed?" I suggested and he glared at me. "I'm serious. Get. Dressed. Koli. You're not going to sit at my table with your chest out." He rolled his eyes but disappeared for a moment, coming back pulling a shirt over his head. "Better. Now come on, it won't hurt you to be a little sociable. From what I heard from Lily, you can be quite pleasant when you put your mind to it."

"That was all an act, and you know that, Red." I scoffed.

"Act then. And my name is Natasha, not _Red_." He avoided my gaze and walked down the stairs ahead of me. Asgardians could be so pigheaded.

Dinner started off awkward to say the least. The only noise that broke the silence was the clinking of cutlery against bowls and the TV, which was still reporting the bodies. They'd found another one, and even I, sceptical as I may be, was beginning to think that this was a hell of a lot of deaths for a serial killer. Cult, perhaps? They were again showing pictures of the bodies and wounds, and while I wasn't squeamish, I didn't particularly like seeing corpses while eating, so I focussed on my food (which might I add, was delicious). I looked up when I felt sauce splash against the back of my hand, and saw that Koli had dropped his fork in his bowl, staring at the TV screen.

"What is it?" Bruce asked while I licked the back of my hand clean.

"Those wounds...I recognise them." Bruce and I exchanged a quick glance, frowning. "They...once you've seen them before, they're impossible to miss or mistake something else for them." I set my fork down in my bowl.

"Go on." I transferred my attention to him completely.

"Those marks...that's the bite of the Valkyris."

**~X~**

"Lily?" I pressed my face into Loki's neck happily, feeling no shame at my snuggling. It was a week and a half after his major strop-out, and he was finally talking to me _properly_ again and had cut out all the evasive stuff. Which was good. "Lily, the phone's ringing." I frowned, dragging myself to consciousness.

"Answer it then, the extension's right next to you." I mumbled through a yawn.

"Well, I would, except for one, you're currently lying on me, thus restricting my movement, and two, it's not like anyone would be phoning to speak to me." I hit him weakly on the chest before leaning over him and grabbing for the phone. His hands drifted to my hips as I lay across him, and I nudged him with an elbow as if to say _Behave!_ before finally reaching the phone and answering it just before it went through to the voicemail.

"Hello?" I said...well, slurred would be more accurate.

"Lily? I tried ringing your mobile, but you weren't answering." I frowned at Natasha's urgent tone.

"It's in my room..." I realised my slip a fraction of a second too late.

"And you're just waking up _not_ in your room because..."

"You know damn well why." I grunted, rolling over onto my back (still lying on Loki). "What's up?"

"There's a situation. Put your TV on – find a 24 hour news channel." I sighed before dragging myself off Loki (who appeared to be nearly asleep again) and stumbled down the stairs to the living room. I collapsed on the sofa and turned the TV on, finding an appropriate station. There were some reports on a possible serial killer who'd only surfaced a few days ago but had already gained a body count of six. I heard a mammoth yawn and saw Loki in the doorway.

"Yeah, there's some serial killer or something. What's that got to do with us, surely it's just some messed up guy with a psychotic streak." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Loki freeze, but it didn't really register.

"Ask Loki about the Valkyris, and then get packing. We're meeting at Stark Tower as soon as possible." I blinked.

"Wait, _we_? As in, the Avengers?"

"Yup."

"Does that make me an Avenger now?" I asked, confused.

"After saying 'I'd better assemble the Avengers', Fury told me to get in contact with you. Make of that what you will." I'm an Avenger. The superhero nerd within me cheered. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright...wait, am I bringing Loki? And are we getting picked up or making our own way?" I looked at Loki and noticed the look of...horror...on his face. Oh...bugger.

"Bring Loki, Koli says that he has the best knowledge on the subject of anyone he's ever met, and while a car can be organised for you, it would be better to get there yourself."

"I...okay, we'll get ourselves there. Bye." I heard the click to tell me that she'd hung up and turned to Loki. "We're going to Stark Tower, Loki. Mind telling me what the hell Valkyries are?" He dragged his gaze away from the TV, where some nasty images of neck wounds were being shown.

"Valkyris." He corrected softly. I nodded, indicating for him to go on. He sat...well, collapsed on the sofa next to me, and reached for my hand instinctively – if I didn't know better, I'd say he was reassuring himself that I was still there. "They are a species from a far off realm, and are the basis of the vampire legends of this world." Vampires on the loose? What the... "They are...immensely powerful, and incredibly dangerous. In Asgard once, two managed to break through the city's defences, and succeeded in killing twenty people and enslaving thirty more in the space of a week before they were brought down. They feed off blood like in your legends, but when they bite a person, they bite to kill – there's no bite them and then heal them for later, or biting them to turn them into one of the Valkyris; they won't stop drinking until the person is dead, regardless of circumstances. If they are pulled away before killing, they go quite literally rabid, and begin to murder people mindlessly and ruthlessly. They can fill a person with their magic by letting any of their bodily fluids enter them – saliva, semen or otherwise. Once a person has consumed a Valkyris' bodily fluids – whether that's by mouth or through an open wound or...through genitalia – they are 'enslaved' to that one Valkyris. They will do their bidding to the point of death. The only way to free a person from this control is to kill the Valkyris who is their master, and that is no mean feat." Loki's gaze had become unfocussed, but he suddenly looked at me, seeing the fear in my eyes. "I'm scaring you."

"Never mind that. Are you saying that one of these _things_ is on Earth?" He gestured towards the TV screen.

"The bite of a Valkyris is unmistakeable. I imagine that Koli recognised it on the news and informed Agent Romanoff and the doctor: he was there when Asgard was compromised by the race. From the amount of deaths so far, and the growing number of people missing, I would say that there is at least two on Earth, possibly more." I felt my eyes widen and he grasped both of my hands tighter. "I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."

"You're only human, Loki." I whispered, feeling the fear like ice in my heart – and not the good sort of ice that was Loki's home there.

"In light of this, I imagine that Thor will be journeying to Midgard to assist whatever defences S.H.I.E.L.D can raise against the Valkyris. If I am able to convince him that I only have good intentions, he may petition the Allfather on my behalf as regards to regaining my powers, at least for a short while." He seemed thoughtful (and a little excited, though I could tell he was guilty about that).

"How would you make Thor believe that your intentions are all fluffy and innocent?" He gave me a funny look at my phrasing, but otherwise let it pass.

"You." He answered simply. I blushed involuntarily, and he laughed, touching my cheek gently. "He knows what passed between us, and while he doesn't currently know you're alive – although Heimdall may have seen you and told him – he knows that in a fashion, you are to me what Jane is to him. Granted, they are much more traditional in their courtship...well, as traditional as you can be across realms...but he would understand my need to protect you, and therefore have a much higher conviction in fighting my case to Odin." I sighed.

"Anything else you need to tell me about the Valkyris?" He kissed my temple, resting his lips against my head as he spoke.

"Many things, but they can wait until we are in the company of the other people who need informing about them." I nodded.

"Come on, we need to pack, and I need to find a car." He pulled away, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"You can drive?"

"My parents took care of that when I was 12 years old. I can drive pretty well, I just don't particularly enjoy it." He chuckled. "Right, packing." We walked upstairs with our arms around each other's waist, both needing the solidarity in the face of this new threat looming over us.

**FINALLY, WE HAVE PLOT! Vampires. Because why the hell not. There'll be more information etc. in the following chapter – I don't know if similar creatures already exist in Norse/Marvel mythology, but I didn't want to risk relying on the internet for my information and getting stuff wrong, so I thought I may as well make it up. Any questions, feel free to ask – obviously, I may not answer all of them, as I have to keep some secrets...  
And you know I said that from now on, I would try to update every Tuesday and Friday? Yeah, you won't be getting another update until NEXT Tuesday, as on Friday I am getting on a train to go to London for the weekend with Jen (and Amber on Saturday) for SUMMER IN THE CITY, the biggest YouTube gathering in the UK. I am going to be in the presence of YouTube gods and goddesses. It is going to be epic. If you are also going, then we will be the ones probably acting like retards and handing out cookies. So you've got a week off now. Go eat cake or something. I recommend making a chocolate milkshake and dumping a load of cookies'n'cream ice cream in it – it tastes like diabetes in the ABSOLUTE BEST WAY possible. DFTBA!**


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

**They see me rollin', they hatin'...**

Loki chucked our bags in the backseat of the small car I had hired for the week and slammed the door shut. I knew that we'd be away for longer than a week (it was too much to hope that we'd resolve this Valkyris issue in just a couple of days), but I figured that Stark had enough people on his payroll to organise driving the car back (well, more like Stark had enough money to enable Pepper to tell someone to drive it back). I opened the driver's door and slid in, doing a quick inventory of where everything was while Loki sat down next to me. He looked a little uncertain.

"Are you sure you can control this thing?" He asked and I laughed, turning the key in the ignition.

"It's a car, not a wild animal, Loki. Have a little faith." I pulled off the curb and started down the road. "I don't know if we can stay at Stark Tower, especially if Tasha's the only one who knows I'm alive, so we'll have to find a hotel or something. She might've told Bruce though, if they're staying together..."

"If you think this is going to be awkward for you, think how unpleasant it will be for me. I have to pretend to _like_ them." He gave an over-dramatic shudder.

"You don't have to pretend to like them, you just have to make them believe you're a reformed man, even if you aren't 100% there yet. Liking has got nothing to do with it. Just don't get in any fights, I don't want to have to haul your ass out of trouble." He scoffed.

"If Thor successfully petitions my fa- Odin, then I'll be perfectly capable of hauling my own ass out of trouble." He retorted.

"Regardless, behave."

"Oh Lily, who do you think I am? The God of Mischief or something?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Hey, eyes on the road."

"Relax, Loki. I know what I'm doing!"

**~X~**

I pulled up about a block away from the unmistakable Stark Tower, which had become the unofficial base of the Avengers (probably something to do with Tony's never ending supply of high quality alcohol). We climbed out of the car and shouldered our bags, both looking towards the giant building which towered over all the others around it. I glanced at Loki, noticing that his hands were in tight fists and that his jaw was clenched. He was nervous.

"Come on. Let's see who they freak out over the most – sorta-God of Mischief or Agent Lazarus." He swallowed, nodding and I led the way down the road to the entrance to Stark Towers. I pressed the buzzer on the door, and a voice with a heavy English accent came over the intercom.

"Please state your name and intention." Jarvis, I presume.

"Agent Lazarus with charge and I'm assembling, bitches." I answered, grinning at Loki who was shaking his head at me.

"Welcome, Agent. Proceed to the top floor, Mr Stark and the others are there already." I liked this Jarvis guy. Yeah, he was an AI, but still...he was very well spoken.

"Gotcha." The doors slid open smoothly and I beckoned Loki as I stepped into the luxurious lobby. I was surprised that Stark hadn't got a receptionist stationed at the desk in the corner, but when I voiced my thoughts to Loki, he reminded me that a lot of superheroes etc. would be passing through this lobby today, and perhaps a receptionist couldn't be trusted with that sort of information. I couldn't decide whether Loki being snarky made me want to kiss him or hit him. We got into a large mirrored lift, and I was just reaching for the 'shut the doors, please' button when they closed on their own accord and Jarvis' smooth, well-cultured voice sounded as if he was standing in the elevator next to us.

"Agent Lazarus, Loki, going up."

"Okay, that is too cool. Jarvis, you are awesome." I muttered, and was stupidly surprised when Jarvis answered.

"Thank you, Agent." I elbowed Loki.

"I like this one. Can I keep him?" He just looked at me weirdly. He seems to spend a lot of time doing that.

The tower was of course huge, but with the Stark Ind. tech in the lift, we reached the top floor in a matter of seconds. I exhaled, steeling myself for the barrage of questions that I knew I was going to receive, and stepped out of the lift as the doors opened, Loki close behind me. The Avengers were...well, let's not say arguing, let's say _discussing_ the situation loudly, and for a few seconds, no one noticed our presence. Thor obviously hadn't got the message yet...wonder how they were going to contact him. Fury was not looking best-pleased...almost as if he was a long-suffering baby sitter. He looked up and saw us.

"Agent Lazarus, Loki. How nice of you to join us." Koli was the first to look up, and I shot him a glare. Didn't like him anymore. Meanie.

"What the hell?" Tony's exclamation carried across the room, and I looked across at him (silently approving of the AC/DC t shirt he was wearing).

"Hey, Stark. Hey everyone. Hope you didn't start the party without me." I said lightly, joining them around the table and sitting on an empty chair next to Natasha. "Hi Tasha." She smiled at me.

"How you doing, Lily?" I nodded, trying to hold back giggles at the rest of the Avengers reactions to my not-deadness. I felt Loki stand behind my chair, clearly uneasy, and I followed the direction of his gaze over to Koli. They were having a staring contest. Professional five year olds, the pair of them.

"Okay, either I've missed something or I'm having a nightmare in which I'm stuck with you lot while a dead chick sits amongst us like nothing has happened."

"I think the first option is more likely." I smirked at Tony, and Barton stood up.

"She's supposed to be dead." He addressed Fury.

"Yes I am, but I'm not, and I don't quite know how, so it's easier that we just accept it and move on." I smiled sweetly at him, ignoring the mistrust that was clear on his face.

"Agent Lazarus is part of the team now. Treat her as such." Fury turned his one uncovered eye on Barton and he stepped back, sitting down slowly. Bruce was looking at me from next to Natasha with a curious look on his face – a look that clearly said 'I would love to get a sample of your blood and do tests', because he is a science nerd. Bless.

"Wait...Lazarus." Everyone looked up at Steve, who was looking particularly fetching in a battered brown leather jacket. "The story in the Bible of the man brought back to life." I smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you're not all completely clueless. Basically, the long and short of it is that when Loki shot me-" cue everyone looking up at him – I could feel him practically squirming under their gaze, and his fingers tensed on the back of my chair. "-the power was too much for my body to deal with, and it killed me. Then obviously _something_ changed, and the power was able to work with my insides and patch me up nicely. When I woke up, I was understandably freaked, so I ran. Fast. Very fast, in fact." I clicked my fingers for dramatic effect as I summoned the glass of liquor from Tony's hand and floated it over to me, where I grabbed it out of the air and took a sip. Mmmmmmm. Good stuff.

"Hey!" He was indignant at my stealing of his alcohol, and seemed to have not noticed that I hadn't even touched him. And that I was several metres away from him.

"So now you have some of Loki's magic." Bruce said mildly and I considered this.

"Well...yeah, I suppose I do, in a way. But moving things about is the only thing like that I'm really capable of, as far as I know, and I'm also physically more powerful, and can heal quickly and stuff." The doctor looked even more intrigued than before.

"Are you lot going to continue marvelling over the Lily Girling phenomenon, or have you forgotten that we're currently under threat from another very powerful race who could easily overrun this planet in a matter of weeks if they put their mind to it?" Koli snapped, and I felt a surge of gratitude that everyone stopped scrutinising me and stared at him instead. Then I remembered that I didn't like him anymore. Meanie.

"Hi Koli. Nice to see you too." My sarcasm was heavily disguised with politeness, but still very obvious. Just how I like it. He didn't deign to look at me. Charming.

"Right. So now we have Jesus in our midst. Okay. I can deal with that." Tony had found another glass and was filling it with more alcohol. I don't think he even realised he was doing it.

"Hey, I'm not a dude and I don't have a beard!" I retorted.

"You sure about that, sunshine?" I flipped him the finger, remembering how easy the banter between us went. I'd actually kinda missed it, even though I had Loki to fill the post of verbal sparring partner.

"Children!" Fury called us to attention and I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. "Valkyris." Everyone in the room instantly sobered. "Loki, Koli has told us some of what we need to know about these creatures, but apparently you're the expert." He shifted uncomfortably behind me as everyone's attention was drawn to him, and I sighed, signalling for an empty chair by the lift to skid over and land by my side. I grabbed Loki's wrist and pulled him down to the chair. He nodded at me, and I was more than slightly surprised by the coldness on his face before realising that he was trying to protect my 'reputation' – he didn't want to make everyone's suspicions about the two of us go completely out of control (probably a bit late for that).

"The Valkyris are an ancient race with unclear origins, though it is widely suspected that the first of them were in fact Asgardians or Midgardians who dabbled in dark magic that should be left well alone. They are the source of many legends, especially the Midgardian vampire folklore. They usually use glamour to disguise themselves as young, attractive humans, but their actual appearance is old and haggard, with sharp, yellow fangs and particularly long, crooked noses and pointed chins. They attack in two main ways – to kill or to control. They bite to kill, leaving four holes in their victim; these bite marks are usually found on the neck, but can be elsewhere. If a Valkyris is pulled away from their victim before killing them, they go rabid, and attack anyone they see, whether human or otherwise, killing without thought. They are fast, dangerous and damn near impossible to bring down. One time in Asgard, two broke into the city and killed or enslaved more than fifty people in a week." The silence echoing round the room was tangible.

"So how do they enslave people? What does that control pertain?" Tony piped up and a look passed between the two men. Why did I get the feeling that in a different situation, they'd be either best friends or lovers?

"To enslave a person, all the Valkyris need do is get some bodily fluids into that person – saliva, blood, semen, etc." Tony pulled a face at the mention of semen.

"Why would you let one of these _things_ do you if they're ugly bastards?!" He sounded repulsed, and rightly so.

"They can be...seductive. Once you've consumed the bodily fluids of a Valkyris – orally, through an open wound or through genitalia – you are enslaved to that one Valkyris and will do everything and anything they tell you to. In some cases, they will pass you over to another, but you can only be freed from control if and when the Valkyris who was originally your master is killed. As an entire race, the Valkyris crave ultimate control, and try to enslave as many as possible in any one attempt." Loki looked across at me as the information he'd afforded the Avengers sank in and I saw the tension in his eyes.

"You okay?" I mouthed. He nodded once and I raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Is it possible for a Valkyris to create another? Like, monster spawn or something?" Barton asked.

"The longer a person is enslaved to a Valkyris, the more like a Valkyris they become. After around twenty years of slavery, they are freed as an equal, and can then enslave others. There have been a few instances of sexual procreation between two Valkyris, but as they are hardly personal or lustful creatures, such cases are rare. Magic can also be used to turn a person, but there are very few with a strong enough command of magic to be able to do so."

"How do you kill them?" The question was raised by Fury, but it was Koli rather than Loki who answered.

"Brute force or magic. A lot of brute force, or very powerful magic. As you stand, the only one amongst you who could possibly take down a Valkyris solo is Banner when he's angry." Bruce studied his hands intently, forever uncomfortable at mentions of his large alter ego. "If Loki was up to...full power, he could succeed in killing one. Thor wielding Mjölnir would be strong enough. The rest of you...even teamed up in pairs for example, you would struggle." I noticed that ever since Koli had outed himself as 'bad' (well, Loki had done that for him), his voice was considerably more...bitter – he seemed to sneer everything. I didn't know whether that was a recent change, or just something I hadn't picked up on before.

"We'll manage. We always do." Natasha said defensively, and there was a murmur of agreement around the table.

"So how are we going to get Blondie here, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Heimdall." I answered, turning to Loki. "Can't he see everything that happens in all of the realms even without the Bifrost?" He nodded.

"His gaze may not be focussed on Midgard currently. I would recommend that a party of you go to the Bifrost site and call to him to inform him of the situation. He can tell Thor, who will be able to use to Tesseract to journey across the realms." Loki leant back in his chair. "Even then, all we can do is wait, and hope that the Valkyris do not up the ante."

**This chapter gave me a lot of grief, so I just decided to cut it off there and start afresh on chapter seven. Reviewers win Loki's horns.**

**And OH MY GOD SUMMER IN THE CITY WAS AMAZING I MET SO MANY PEOPLE AND NOW EXCUSE ME WHILE I CURL UP IN A BALL AND SOB BECAUSE IT'S OVER WAAAAAH. I met Chris Kendall (Crabstickz), Liam Dryden (littleradge), Luke Cutforth (lukeisnotsexy), Jack Howard and Dean Dobbs (OMFGItsJackAndDean), Carrie Fletcher (ItsWayPastMyBedtime), TomSka (asdfmovies guy), Tom Burns (randomprodinc) and that was just on the Friday. I also met BriBry O'Reilly (BriBryOnTour), Alfie (PointlessBlog), Mr Weebl (NARWALS, NARWALS, SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN, CAUSING A COMMOTION, COS THEY ARE SO AWESOME!), Edd Plant (from Chameleon Circuit), Marcus Butler and DAN HOWELL (danisnotonfire)! There were probably more, but I a) can't remember and b) don't wanna make you toooo jealous. Basically, I can't wait for next year!**


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

**OH MY GOD THE AVENGERS GAG REEL THIS IS WHY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU NEEDS TO HAVE TUMBLR. This chapter is now a Cobie Smulders Appreciation chapter. Not sure how yet, but it is.**

"Okay guys, let's take five." Fury stood up and walked over to the window, looking out across the city in that 'I'm a bad ass mother lover' way of his.

"Um, can we make that ten, please? Possibly even twenty, if we're being greedy." Tony lifted his glass to his lips again and I smirked. I twisted round in my seat to look at Loki, who was looking marginally more comfortable than he was when we first arrived (which means he was still tense as hell).

"Are you alright?" I murmured, fully aware of the sidelong glances everyone was giving us. He looked at me disparagingly.

"I'm nowhere near alright, but I'm also trying to keep my distance from you while we're here for your sake, so yes, I'll be fine if you leave me alone for five minutes to go and talk to Stark, which is what you obviously want to do." He hissed, and I blinked in shock before catching on.

"Right then, you stay here and behave while I go talk to my friend, dick." I shot back, glimpsing the ghost of a smirk on his face before the deadpan look returned. Standing up, I made a beeline for Tony, who was doing something very awesome with some sort of 3D computer that was floating in the air or...no, that doesn't compute. Haha. Compute. See what I did there? Oh dear, I'm so punny.

"Hey there, Iron Man. How you doing?" I sidled alongside him and grinned.

"Not so bad, Jesus. Yourself?" I elbowed him. "Hey! Still as feisty as ever, I see."

"I try my best. What do you think about these Valkyris things?" I followed him as he circled around the table-computer-floaty thing.

"Well...I think, that if something as bad as Twilight can be created off the back of folklore about them...they're certainly three buses, a long walk and £8 in a taxi away from good." I stopped dead, my jaw dropping. "What?"

"You memorise Doctor Who quotes. Oh Tony, I always knew you were a geek, but I never thought you were this awesome!" I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

"So what? I have a lot of free time on my hands and it's on the TV." I patted him on the back and he briefly squeezed his arms around my waist. "It's really good to have you back, sunshine. Don't expect me to say this again, ever, but I was really pissed that you died." He pushed me away lightly.

"I wasn't too pleased either, to tell you the truth." He lifted his eyebrows and turned back to the computer...thing.

"Hey Jarvis, wanna do me a sweep of all the police reports linked to these attacks and see if you can find anything new?"

"For you, sir, certainly." The AI's voice brought an instant smile to my face.

"Stark, your computer is the coolest." He smirked.

"Why thank you, Miss Girling." Tony's smile definitely registered on the flirting scale, and I wondered whether Loki would be silently fuming...or whether he'd realise that Tony is just a natural flirt...or maybe he wouldn't care at all, that was a possibility too. "So what's going on between you and Rudolf then?" I frowned at him quizzically. "You know. Loki." I rolled my eyes, moving away from Tony as I circled the table. I made to poke a button on it but had my hand slapped away like a child reaching for the cookie jar...mmmm, cookies...

"Nothing is going on between me and Loki. We just live together, that's all." I avoided looking at him.

"Sure thing, sunshine. I would buy that, except, one, you already admitted to us that you had a _thing_ way back when he was trying to take over the world for the second time, and two, there is nearly as much sexual tension between you two as there is between Robin Hood and Maid Marian." I rolled my eyes. "I say almost, because their tension is very much unresolved, but I'm getting the idea that you and Loki have been...shall we say getting up to _mischief_?" I laughed.

"Look, Stark, believe what you like. I don't care what people think of me." He pointed at me with a pen, narrowing his eyes.

"I bet you do. I bet if I announced to the room right now that you and Loki have been partaking in sexy times, you'd be really pissed."

"We haven't had sex!" I retorted, indignant.

"But you have been _enjoying_ his company, am I right or am I right?" I sighed.

"Right." He laughed raucously.

"Knew I could make you admit it!" He taunted, and my response was the very mature stick-your-tongue-out-at-the-annoying-man.

"Sir, I have compiled all the relevant police and media documentation available. There have been nine deaths and twenty three missing persons reports filed in the past ten days that fit with the Valkyris' expected behaviour." Jarvis, forever calm in a crisis because he is an AI.

"How far spread apart are those geographically, Jarvis?" Tony took a mouthful of whatever alcohol he was drinking, and I looked at my phone. It was only 2pm. How much did he drink in a day?

"All incidents have been reported within a 20 mile area, sir. They appear to be centred around a group of warehouses that have been abandoned for several years."

"Well," Tony tapped the screen in front of him and several icons floated up into the air. Too awesome. "...we can assume that they aren't abandoned anymore."

"Indeed, sir." I noticed that Tony was now immersed in his own little world of technology (literally – there were floating icons completely surrounding him) and decided to leave him to it. I moved over to the window, looking out across the city. One thing could certainly be said for Stark Tower – it was in a prime location. I felt someone watching me and resisted the urge to sigh. It was too much to hope for five minutes' peace, wasn't it? I turned around and saw Koli staring at me with a strange expression on his face.

"You should take a picture, it'll probably last longer." I commented drily, and he smirked. The smirk was familiar, the dark look in his eyes however, was not. He joined me at the window, arms folded and succeeding in making me feel short once again. Fabulous.

"He's using you, you know that." He remarked lightly.

"I don't think he is, actually." I replied politely. You know, the sort of politeness which makes it very clear that you'd quite happily decorate their face with your fist.

"You are still so naive, Lily. Haven't you learnt your lesson yet? He will always use you, because it's in his nature. He's a cold, manipulative Frost Giant, and you mean absolutely nothing to him." I rounded on the Asgardian technician who had been my friend and slapped him across the face.

"Shut up, Koli. Just shut up." I brushed past him and sat back down at the table, ignoring the looks that the rest of the room was shooting my way. Loki raised an eyebrow at me, but I shook my head. Natasha leaned over towards me.

"I've wanted to do that ever since I met him. Thanks." I grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Oh, by the way, I'm not the only one who's picked up on the sexual tension between you and Barton. Stark mentioned it."

"Stark can go play with the traffic on the highway." She answered and I snorted in the most ladylike fashion.

"Okay then, kids, back to business." Fury called us all to attention as he also returned to the table and the chatter quickly subsided. "What we need to do is obvious. How we are going to do it is a little trickier." He eyed us all carefully. "A group needs to go to the Bifrost site to get the attention of our tall and blonde friend from space and the rest needs to scout out the Valkyris territory."

"You want us to split up?" Steve asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, Captain, that's exactly what I want you to do." Fury shot back. Steve raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. "Doctor Banner, you'll be leading the group out to the Bifrost site. You'll be joined by Miss Romanoff and Loki. The rest of you – Stark, Rodgers, Barton, and Girling – you're the scouts. Try not to get into any fights, because it won't be good for any of us if one of you gets yourself killed before the cavalry arrives."

"What about me?" Koli asked (a little sulkily, in my opinion).

"You, Koli, will be staying here with Agent Hill and myself and help us co ordinate everyone." He visibly deflated and I had to hide a grin.

"He will?" Hill brought attention to herself for the first time. She'd been standing in the corner tapping away on some mobile device, but now approached the table.

"Yes, he's somewhat of a wildcard so I want him where I know I can keep an eye on him." She swallowed and nodded, and I realised I wasn't the only person who'd noticed the way Koli's eyes had lit up when she moved towards the group. "We'll head out in the morning. Stark, I take it you've got enough rooms here for everyone to stay in?"

"Well, it depends who's up to sharing." Tony wiggled his eyebrows at me and I glared at him across the table. "There's nine of you, I got seven spare rooms. They're all doubles, couple of them have got two single beds. Fight amongst yourselves." Everyone looked across at each other slightly awkwardly. I rolled my eyes – seriously, it was as if we were all in high school or something.

"Tasha, shall we share one of the twin rooms?" She nodded, and I folded my arms. "Come on, guys, man up. It's not exactly difficult." The men stayed silent, and I shared a look with Hill over the table. Men.

"Come on, guys, two of you have to share and everyone else gets their own room." Cue several more seconds of awkward silence. Steve sighed (the softie).

"I'll share with someone." He looked around the table. I saw Fury staring pointedly at Barton, who put his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"Fine! Fine! Captain, I sure hope you don't snore." Steve laughed and Stark picked up his phone.

"Pepper? Are the guest rooms all set up? Good, cos we got guests." He dropped the phone on the table and stood up. "Come on then, I suppose I'd better show you where to go. If you trash the rooms, you can damn well clean them up."

**~X~**

I dropped my bag on one of the beds and smiled at Tasha. Koli and Loki had taken rooms on either side of ours, as our guard duties hadn't really been relaxed, but we were the only people on this floor apart from them. She collapsed across her duvet and I was surprised at how...different...she looked when she let her guard down.

"I am knackered. I swear I haven't slept in four days or something." I laughed.

"Yeah, our jobs are pretty full time...at least you have Bruce with you, though...some attempt at normality..."

"Yeah, the guy who turns into a giant green rage monster, that's very normal. Besides, you and Loki get along...Koli is a complete pain in the ass." I sat crossed legged in the middle of my bed and faced her.

"He went into full on Asgardian strop mode the other week. I wanted to kill the bastard, you'd think he was on his period or something." She snorted.

"I don't think you could kill him, Lily." I nodded.

"True. But I definitely wanted to." We lapsed into silence for a while, and when I looked over, I realised that she'd fallen asleep. Wow. She was tired. I slipped off my bed and tip toed out of the door, shutting it gently behind me. I'd go wake her up when we were called for dinner...I wonder whether Tony has machines cooking for him as well...

I walked down the corridor in socked feet, having left my boots at the bottom of my bed. I stopped outside Loki's door and tapped on it lightly. He opened it, a hostile look on his face, before realising it was me and holding it wide for me to step in. I ducked under his arm and went to sit on his bed.

"What's with the hostile look, did you really think it would be anyone else?" I asked.

"Captain America decided to pay me a visit." I frowned, tilting my head to one side as an indication for him to elaborate. "He just wanted to let me know that he still doesn't trust me and he'll be watching me in case I try anything...as if I didn't already know that. You're the only person in this building...no, this world, who even trusts me the slightest bit, and even that trust is unfounded."

"Oh, shut up. Quit the self pity trips, they're getting boring." I snapped, and he rolled his eyes, joining me on the bed. "Are you going to be okay with Bruce and Tasha? They may not be exactly friendly, but they'll be professional about it, at least."

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you, going straight for Valkyris territory." I grinned.

"Awwww, don't worry about me, sweetheart, I'll be fine. It's a scouting mission, we won't be getting into any fights. I'll keep well away from them, I swear." He nodded, but still seemed troubled.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Yes mom." I retorted. His arms snaked around my waist and I leant into him, perfectly content to spend the hours before dinner with Loki. Surprisingly, we didn't spend the entire time making out...in fact, we spent barely any time making out. I found a copy of the Hunger Games on one of the bookshelves in his room, and we read it aloud to each other while sprawled across his bed. It was nice...it almost felt as if we were nothing more than a couple of friends wasting an afternoon doing nothing productive while the world absolutely wasn't tumbling down around our shoulders.

**Shortest chapter yet, and it's still more than I intend to write for my History essay. Bahaha.  
It was my results day on Thursday, when I got my grades for the five exams I did back in July (do you remember, I was writing fanfic when I should have been revising?). I didn't do as well as I hoped, but I did about as well as I expected, which I suppose I should be happy with. Hope everyone who got results in the past couple of weeks did okay! Reviewers win some Loki Charms! (see what I did there...like Lucky Charms, those cereals that Americans have?)**

**Also, RAT, WEDDING, BOW. That is all.**

**EDIT: I'm sorry I haven't been updating when I said I would! This whole update-schedule is stressing me out, and making me NOT want to write, so I'll just update when I have the motivation...I promise I'll try to put at least one chapter up per week, though. Life just gets on top of me...(shit that sounds bad)...also YouTube. It's distracting. For the record, Jen has been badgering me for this chapter since Friday and I've just procrastinated. Please don't hate me.**


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

**Shit. I'm not even going to try to defend myself. It's been nearly five weeks I think. I am so sorry. School started, I've got to retake two of my exams, I keep getting buttloads of homework, I'm applying for another job on top of my voluntary Saturday job, YouTube currently isn't working for me and if that wasn't enough, now I'm ill. That at least gives me a chance to write, and so that's what I intend to do. I can't guarantee how good this chapter will be, as it is a filler chapter between the action and where I left off, but it is necessary. Once again, I am so so so sorry. It's amazing how much support I'm still getting on these stories, even when I don't update for over a month. You're all beautiful. Here. Have cookies.  
PS. I mention jelly in this chapter. I don't mean American jelly, aka. jam. I mean what we Brits call jelly, and I don't have a clue what that is elsewhere.**

I arrived for dinner a little later than everyone else, so the rest of the gang were already sat around the table with steaming piles of food in front of them. I dropped into a chair between Natasha and Tony and pulled a bowl towards me.

"Did I miss anything?" I asked lightly, and saw Loki looking up at me, the anger clear in his eyes. "Okay, who's been bullying Loki again?" I sighed, looking at them disapprovingly until Barton coughed and avoided my gaze. "Clint, really? I know you've got a grudge, but..."

"We can't trust him, he shouldn't be here!" He exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

"Regardless, we must, and he is." Natasha glared at her partner, and some unspoken communication passed between the two of them.

"Sweet Jesus, if I'm going to have to put up with this, I'm going to need a drink. Dummy, where's that casket of wine? Bring it over, and for the love of God, don't drop it like you did that champagne last month." Stark clicked his fingers and soon a box of wine bottles was being places relatively gently on the table along with some glasses. He reached for the nearest one and filled it up, draining it nearly instantly and refilling it again. I tutted, taking the bottle from him and pouring my own glass before passing it round the table.

"So, what do you plan to do when you reach the Bifrost site?" Steve asked, spearing a piece of beef like it had personally offended him.

"Oh please, can we not talk about that while we're eating? Some normality, please!" Bruce laughed lightly, but we could all hear the tension in his voice. We ate in silence for a while, and I felt someone kicking my leg. I glanced around the table to find the source and noticed Loki staring at me, a slightly mischievous look in his eye. He looked down at his plate of food, and up at me again. It only took a couple of repetitions for me to understand what he was getting at, which I suppose was testament to how well I had gotten to know him in the past few months. I mouthed 'Desert' across the table and he nodded slightly. Stark was going to _love _us for this...

**~X~**

Desert itself was a choice between a variety of different ice creams, chocolate cake, cheesecake, fruit pie, jelly or any combination of the lot along with whipped cream. I chose everything apart from the jelly – there's nothing wrong with pigging out every now and then, and God knows I'd be doing enough exercise to work it off in the next few weeks. I told Loki wordlessly to wait for a bit; I wanted to try at least some of this stuff before all hell broke loose.

"I must say, this is excellent food you got here, Stark." Fury commented, studying the chocolate cake intently.

"No expenses spared for my most esteemed guests, sweetcheeks. Pepper is very good at sourcing this stuff." Tony took a mammoth bite out of his slice of cake and grinned around it. Ew.

"You are disgusting." Natasha pulled a face at me and I snickered. Loki caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. I leant back in my chair, scratching my back.

"You know, Tony, Fury's right. The food's good. It would be a shame to see it go to waste."

"What do you mean, princess? Eat up." He threw a lump of chocolate from the top of the cake into his mouth, and I smirked.

"I mean...perhaps I don't want to eat. Perhaps I've thought of a better use." He barely had time to frown before I flicked a spoonful of ice cream and sponge cake at him. It hit him squarely on the eyebrow, and started making its way sliding down his face. Silence fell in the room.

"You did not."

"Oh yes I did." I tried not to look _too_ pleased with myself, because it was really Loki's idea, but everyone needed to lighten up a bit.

"Oh it's on." Tony narrowed his eyes at me, and I heard a single word from somewhere behind me.

"Damn."

And then there was no going back. I remember being pinned down by Tony as he squirted whipped cream in my face (not an euphemism, that actually happened), then having Natasha pull him off me to pour a handful of jelly down his shirt. He squealed like a girl and I let out a delighted laugh. Next thing I know I was screaming as someone's arm pulled me up and held me around my waist while they shoved ice cream in my face. I kicked and felt them move closer to my ear.

"Haven't had this much fun in ages. Good call." I stared in surprise at Steve as he dropped me and launched a cheesecake-and-jelly missile at the back of Koli's head. He ducked and it splattered into Bruce's jaw. I froze, suddenly remembering that Bruce isn't so cuddly when he's angry, but he laughed and returned fire with a cakebomb of his own. I crawled under the table and found myself next to Agent Hill, who was peering out with a look of disturbed bemusement on her face.

"Oh, hey Maria." She whipped around at the sound of my voice and edged away from me slightly. "No worries, I won't get you, I was taking a break. Figured we all needed to blow off some steam, so..." She grinned, and I giggled at her naivety. "Just kidding." Her face dropped as I threw a lump of pie at her before sliding out from under the table back into the fray. Barton and I spent I'm-not-entirely-sure-how-long wrestling on the floor trying to push ice cream down each other's back, and at some point I ended up back to back with Loki, holding out cans of whipped cream like tasers in defence. He leant his head back on my shoulder and pressed his lips to my ear.

"Thank you. I needed this."

"I know. I think they did too. Maybe this will help them even the score with you." I dropped the can in the same movement that had me pinning Loki's arms behind his back. He struggled, but thanks to the extra strength dying had lent me, I managed to keep hold of him. "Hey guys! Let him have it, and then get over the grudge." I was very glad for his over six foot-ness as half the food in the room was suddenly flying towards the God, and I pressed my face into his shoulder blades as he stood there and let the various desert foods hit him, standing tall and princely, accepting the punishment without a word (though if I knew him at all, he was already plotting his revenge). I think that was the moment when I decided I loved him.

"Oh my...god." I heard a soft voice carry over the room and Tony's face went from 'LET'S PIE THE SORTA GOD OF MISCHIEF THIS IS FUN' to 'Holy shit I'm screwed' in a nanosecond. Pepper was standing in the doorway, looking perfectly coiffed and very dignified as she looked on her now food-covered dining room.

"Pepper. Hi honey." I had honestly never seen Tony look so terrified.

"What _happened_ here?" She stepped daintily into the room, stepping around a discarded bowl that I think had once held jelly.

"Isn't it obvious? This is what happens when a bunch of superheroes are holed up together for too long. I personally think it's better than the alternative, which is where they all try to kill each other, but you may disagree." Fury stepped out of the corner where he'd clearly been taking refuge and frowned at us disapprovingly.

And my whole brain went 'WHAT THE HELL'.

"Lily, I really think you probably shouldn't have done that." Natasha murmured as the soggy missile of whatever I just scooped off the floor slid over the director's eye patch. I saw Steve, Clint and Maria biting back grins, and Loki coughed discretely to hide his smile. I'm fairly certain Tony didn't even notice, as he was still locked under Pepper's gaze, and was pretty oblivious to everything around him.

"Get it cleaned up. I don't care who you hire to do it, but I want it cleaned by the morning. I'm going to go take a bath." Pepper said faintly as she backed out of the room, and Tony nodded mutely. I returned my attention to Fury, who was wiping the gunk off his face.

"Agent Lazarus, watch your back." He warned, giving me _that_ look. He turned his heel and walked out, the leather coat swishing behind him. Tony was still staring after Pepper, who had disappeared, and I poked him in the back.

"Right, err...you lot can go get showered off or whatever, I got some calls to make." We all left the room slightly subdued, but laughing as we slipped and slid across the floor. Well...that was fun.

**~X~**

Early the next morning I heard a light tapping on the wall between mine and Tasha's room and Loki's. I looked at the time on my phone and groaned when I realised that Loki had deemed it appropriate to wake me up at half six. I dragged myself out of bed, careful not to wake my assassin roommate and slipped out of the door. He was waiting in the hallway, dressed for the first time in months in his Asgardian clothes – not the full blown horns'n'cape, but a huge step up from the various shirts and jeans he'd been dressed in since he came to Earth. I yawned.

"What?" I questioned, and he chuckled at my bleary state.

"Get dressed. I would like to spend some time with you before we go our separate ways."

"Jesus, Loki, you're making it sound like the end of the world or something." I muttered. "Gimme half an hour to get ready for the day, it's going to be a bit mad." He nodded as I went back inside, showering and drying my hair before pulling on my new S.H.I.E.L.D outfit – tight not-leather that I was told would protect me as least partially from most wounds with a nice belt for guns and suchlike. It was quite similar to Natasha's, only not as made from dead animals, and I didn't look anywhere near as sexy as she did in hers. I grabbed a black body-warmer that wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D issue but was still awesome and tied my hair back in a messy bun before leaving the room. I was acutely aware of the way Loki's eyes trailed over my legs in the tight fitting uniform and grinned at the way he swallowed when he noticed my gaze. I laughed.

"Calm down, darlin'. Where do you wanna go?" He thought for a moment.

"The roof?"

"The last time you were on Stark's roof, you were destroying most of Manhattan. I hope you don't have any such plans today." We started towards the lift at the end of the corridor, our arms brushing lightly as we walked. I called the elevator and Jarvis took us up, promising not to say anything to the others unless they asked. He really was good.

We sat on the end of the platform with our feet hanging over the edge. The morning was cold, and I folded my arms around myself, edging closer to Loki. He was looking at the buildings that still bore signs of his Chitauri attack, even though it was over a year ago.

"The city has recovered well." He commented and I hummed noncommittally. The damage was still there. "One thing that can be said about this race is that they move on quickly. They put the past behind them and work on the future, but more often than not they forget the lessons that the past should have taught them."

"Oh come on, Loki, it's too early in the morning for philosophy." I nudged him. "Are you sure you'll be okay with Bruce and Tasha?"

"I think that last night will have eased the tensions a little. It will still be uncomfortable, but I suppose I have to deal with it." His hands were tight fists on his knees, and I leaned over to wrap mine around them. "I am sick of just having to accept everything that this world throws at me. When I regain my powers I won't have to anymore."

"Watch it Loki, people will think you're going hostile again." He scoffed.

"People think I always will be." The bitterness of his voice surprised me.

"You really do care what everyone thinks of you, don't you?" I asked softly.

"Only a fool doesn't." I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder. We were quiet for a while before he looked down at me. "And you. Don't you dare get hurt. I don't want the one person in this world with whom I can hold a civilised conversation to get damaged or taken away."

"Is that all you want me around for?" I retorted coyly, and in way of answer he put his fingers under my chin and lifted my lips to his.

"I don't know where I'd be without you." Loki murmured as he rested his forehead against mine.

"Stop it, you're going soft and making me blush." I smirked, and leant in to kiss him again. We were rudely interrupted a few minutes later by my phone buzzing against my hip.

"Leave it." He growled against my lips and for a moment I did consider it. Then I remembered I was kissing the God of Mischief on top of Stark Tower and that most of the Avengers along with my boss were downstairs, and figured it was probably important. I pushed him away as I answered the call.

"Sunshine, I don't even want to know _what_ I'm interrupting, but the Bifrost site group is leaving in half an hour and breakfast's just been served. Get it while it's hot." I could hear Tony lecherous smile through the phone, I swear.

"Shut it, Stark, we'll be there in a minute. When's our group leaving?" I stood up and held my hand out to Loki, who was looking a little peeved that we were being summoned.

"About twenty minutes after the Team Green, Fury's organised a helicopter as apparently my jet's a little too conspicuous."

"It's got Stark Industries plastered over the side of it, conspicuous is right. And why Team Green?"

"Loki, Banner...I thought green was appropriate." I laughed.

"What does that make us then?"

"Team Stark. Obviously."

"We'll have to negotiate on that one, metal man." I answered, walking with Loki back inside.

"Uh, no, I am the oldest, so I get to choose."

"Steve's older than you are."

"But I'm better looking."

"Whatever you say, Tony." I hung up as we stepped back into the lift and Jarvis took us down to the breakfast kitchen (yes, Tony had a kitchen purely for breakfast. Spoilt brat. I bet he even had one for midnight snacks).

**~X~**

We stood in the lobby of Stark Tower after breakfast to wave off Bruce, Tasha and Loki. Bruce was talking to Tony about something sciencey, and they were laughing together like old friends. The two assassins had their heads close together as they whispered, and I could see the look that the red head was giving Barton. She was clearly worried about him, but he didn't appear to notice.

"Alright party people, time to go." Fury threw a set of keys to Natasha. "You got a car outside. You'll find everything you need in it. If you got nothing after a week, come back with nothing." Tasha and Bruce nodded and headed for the car. I looked up at Loki, who had been standing next to me in silence.

"Behave." I ordered, and he ducked his head.

"Ma'am." His voice was laced with sarcasm and I grinned. I squeezed his hand briefly, indicating the door. To my surprise, he pressed his lips to the side of my head, ignoring the stares from everyone else in the room.

"Be careful." I nodded, suddenly finding that there was a lump in my throat. I watched mutely as he joined the other members of Team Green in the car and they drove off.

"Well then. The rest of you...time to suit up." Fury walked off, with Hill and a begrudging Koli on his tail as everyone went to their various bags. Barton stopped by me.

"It's difficult isn't it? Letting someone you care about go where you can't protect them." I nodded, wiping furiously at my eyes to prevent the tears that were threatening to fall. "If Natasha gets hurt, I'll get so mad." I saw his shoulders straighten. "But then I'll put an arrow through everything and anything that harms her. It won't fix it, but it'll save me from myself." He left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

**That was longer than I expected, and also a lot sillier, which I hope you liked, and at least partly makes up for my very long absence. I did already try to write this, but I got to about 700 words and was stumped (in that version, I skipped the food fight and just mentioned it in passing). Next chapter is with Lily, and then I may try my hand at Loki POV. If that goes badly, I'll just use Tasha's brain or something. Reviewers win one of those nice fit rugby players I can see out of my bedroom window...the perks of having a house that backs onto the private school's playing fields...  
Again, I'm sorry for the wait. I can only promise that I'll try to ensure it doesn't happen again. DFTBA! (John Green replied to me on the latest vlogbrothers video. The latest in the rather long list of awesome-YouTube-related-things-that-have-happened-to-me-recently. Phil and Dan used my question in Phil is not on fire 4. And then Phil tweeted me. Good times, good times...)**


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

**~NOW EDITED~**

**I'm a bad person. Yes, I know. I recommend you look up Bryarly Bishop's latest original song, which isn't in the playlist for this story (which can be found on my profile), but I think fits really well with the good ship Lokily – part of the lyrics are: **_**With your love of solitude and my independent moods/We will always spend a bit of time apart/But that doesn't bother me, uncomprehendingly/We move away then back together easily/And I won't lie, it's hard to say goodbye/Some of those things won't get easier with time/But if you wait, I promise I'll wait too/Until the day that I can make my way to you. **_**It works, no?**

**Also, if you desperately need more Loki/OC action, I would VERY VERY VERY muchly recommend Seven Years of Winter by IronBell (which is nearly finished, boo) and The Sky is Falling by xXfireXflyXx, which are my two all-time favourite Avengers stories. **

'Lily? Hey, Lily, wake up." I jerked awake as someone poked me sharply in the ribs, my head smacking into the roof of the small helicopter we'd been given use of. I rubbed it blearily as I glared at Steve, who grinned apologetically. "We're nearly there; I figured you'd rather be woken up now than being woken up while being carried into the safehouse." Yawning, I gave him a double thumbs up and sat up straighter, feeling my back crunch as I moved from my slumped position.

"How long was I out?" I coughed, pulling a face at the taste of general yuck in my mouth. Steven wordlessly offered me a bottle of water, which I accepted with a smile.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure when you made the transition from gazing out of the window looking like an extra from Twilight to snoring against the window, but we've been in the air for about three hours." Tony said with his typical sass and I stuck my tongue at him with my typical immaturity.

"Now now, children, don't make me use my angry voice." Clint reprimanded from the pilot's seat and I laughed.

"Sorry Pops. Won't happen again." Clint rolled his eyes at Tony. "So then, Team Stark, what's the plan when we arrive? I personally want nachos. With lots of cheese and a crapload of salsa, who's with me?"

"Hold on, Team Stark? Since when was that decided?" Steve objected and I snorted.

"I already tried to persuade him against it, but he wouldn't budge." I offered and the salsa-loving billionaire grinned.

"There's no point in arguing, Captain Underpants, so just accept it and...move on." Steve rolled his eyes and I couldn't help but think 'HUSBANDS!'

"By the time we get there, I think it'll be too late to do much, so we may as well just get settled in and maybe have a quick provisional scan of the town – we don't wanna dig too deep until we're familiar with the area."

"Whatever you say, Robin. Can we gossip in our pyjamas around a tub of ice cream too? I'll tell you who I fancy if you admit you like Red." Tony turned around in his seat (he had called shotgun) and looked at Barton. "Come on, Clinty, we're all friends. Admit it, you've got the hots for her."

"If you wanna gossip with me Stark, you'll have to pour a hell of a lot of alcohol down my neck first." Barton said drily as he suddenly swung the aircraft around, sending me nearly into Steve's lap.

"Challenge accepted." The rest of the journey was filled with similar banter, and I was surprised at how well we were all getting on. From what I'd been told, the first time the Avengers assembled, Tony and Steve were constantly griping at each other (which I think is due to unresolved sexual tension, but then again, I have tumblr, so I ship ALL the people, even those I know) and Clint was filled with self-hatred for most of it, but you'd think we were high school kids on our first road trip or something. Once again, I found myself almost forgetting the horrible situation we were in.

"Alright then, kids, here we are. Mind yourself getting out, we landed in a pretty tight spot to stay inconspicuous." Clint pulled his headset off and dropped it onto the...well, is it called a dashboard in a helicopter? I'm gonna call it a dashboard. I unclipped my harness and stood up, stretching as best as I could in the cramped passenger area. Steve was already pulling the door open, and (being a good gentleman from the 1940s) took my bag from me as he stepped out. I followed close behind, realising just how tight our landing was as I nearly walked straight into a wall made up of ugly concrete blocks. I found a gap and looked out, deducing that we were on top of what looked like an abandoned apartment block – S.H.I.E.L.D seemed to have those in plentiful supply.

"Come on, kid, there'll be plenty of time for sightseeing later." Barton said as he walked briskly past me, and I followed him down the stairs.

**~X~**

"Okay, so this room and the two either side of it are wired up for electricity and heating and suchlike, and across the corridor is a bathroom with working everythings. We can sleep wherever, but it'd probably be best to stay in the same place as much as possible, and we should organise some sort of watch rota so we're not caught unawares. S.H.I.E.L.D has got this place blanketed in surveillance tech so we can monitor that and make sure that no vamps are sneaking up on us." We were standing around a cheap table covered in linoleum after exploring the building (I found an old Gameboy with a Sonic game in it – winning) as Barton addressed us, casually cleaning his bow as he did so. "I can take first watch, and we can work the rest out from there."

"Shall we switch the duty every two hours? It's 6pm now – we could get something to eat, then do a quick look around of the area and you could do your watch from 11pm 'til 1am, then I'll do 1 to 3, Tony can do next one and then Lily can take over." Steve looked at me and I nodded.

"I'm fine with that if Stark is." Tony hummed in response, so I took that as a positive. "What food is there?" Barton gestured with his thumb over his shoulder and I opened the fridge that was behind him. "Ready meals, apparently: take your pick." I nabbed the only veggie option there – macaroni cheese – while the men (or should I say boys...) argued over who got the others.

"I'm the best looking, and so therefore I get first pick." I heard Tony announce and Barton scoffing.

"Oh really, Tony? And who decides that?"

"Me, obviously."

"Fine then, let's get a different opinion. Lily, my friend, who would you say out of the three of us is the best looking, and therefore gets first choice?" I looked at Clint in horror.

"Oh, don't make me _choose_, Clint! You're all fabulous!" I whined.

"No, Lily. You have to choose. We won't get offended, promise."

"But..."

"He's right Lily. As the only one of the four of us attracted to men...you have to choose." Tony raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, men and freaking Frost Giants."

"Hey!" I said indignantly. I looked between the three of them...and smirked. "Well, I don't need to choose who gets first choice, because first choice has already been...chosen." Tony and Clint turned around to where I was pointing to see Steve stabbing the plastic on his meal-of-choice and putting it in the microwave.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"You know, you may be a genius, Tony, but sometimes you are dumb." I giggled at their dumbstruck faces and went to help Steve with the microwave (bless him).

Half an hour later, we were all sat around the table on mismatched chairs with plates of food. Tony had (predictably) produced a bottle of alcohol, so we were drinking red wine out of plastic cups designed for children. He swallowed his mouthful and looked at Clint.

"So then. You and Romanoff. Spill the beans."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Oh come on, man, the sexual tension between you two is like something out of 50 Shades of Smut." Clint was suddenly very interested in his food.

"Even I've seen it, Clint." Steve dropped the ultimate bombshell in saying that _no_, he wasn't blind to all things sexual.

"I-we're friends. I was told to kill her, and I decided otherwise."

"Did you decide that before or after you realised how smoking hot she is?" Tony asked bluntly.

"I have noticed how attractive she is, Stark, if that's what you're insinuating."

"Even the good Cap'n noticed that, Barton." Steve grinned smugly. I swallowed my mouthful, feeling the need to intervene.

"Just saying...it's bad enough that the two super assassins are partners slash best friends, can you imagine how scary they'd be as super assassin husband-n-wife sorta thing?" Tony visibly blanched and I snorted. "Come on boys, eat up, we need to get going soon."

"Alright _mom_." Barton mumbled and I elbowed him. I found that I was very much enjoying the easy banter...I'd never particularly had the sensation of being 'one of the lads' before, but...well, it was actually quite fun.

**~X~**

"Okay, so we had better split up. Obviously we can't go out in full uniform, but make sure you've got something to defend yourself with if the need arises. Clint, Tony, you two go together, and I'll go with Lily. Meet back here in three hours, but don't be afraid to send a message if you need to, there's no point in getting into something you can't handle." Steve had easily fallen into the role of group coordinator, and it was testament to how good he was at it that nobody (read: Tony) objected. I pulled a warm jacket over the top of my t shirt and slipped a knife into a secret pocket on the inside of my sleeve. I debated for a moment before tucking a small but powerful handgun into the waistband of my jeans at the small of my back and grinned up at Steve, who was doing a similar thing. Man, he was tall. And very good looking. My ovaries were lucky he wasn't wearing Spandex.

"Okay, so Barton, Stark, if you take the west side of the town – go about two miles out and circle back, the attacks have been pretty localised so I doubt you'll find anything any further out. Lily and I will do the same on the east side." They nodded and walked out, already looking like a couple of nearly middle aged men celebrating whatever it is nearly middle aged men celebrate. Steve stuck his elbow out towards me.

"Shall we go then?" I looked at the arm for a second before cottoning on and looping my arm through his.

"Indeed we shall."

It was colder than I was expecting outside. Like. Really cold. I pulled myself closer to the super soldier who seemed strangely oblivious to the temperature...well, he did spend 70 years as a capsicle, this was probably like a warm summer's day to him. We made idle small talk as we wandered around the city, the picture of innocence, whilst really we were checking out down small alleyways and behind buildings for any signs of sneaky vampire bitches. After about an hour, I was ready to drag Steve into the nearest Starbucks and make him buy me _something_ to warm my hands up when he pulled on my arm, making me stumble into an dark passage between two huge buildings. He stood in front of me protectively, eyes scanning the opposite passage. I strained to look around him, but he was just too big.

"What is it?" I breathed.

"I think there's one of them down there..." His voice was barely a whisper, and I took a sharp intake of breath. Silently, he pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to me. "Find out where the others are and see if they can get here quick." I dialled Tony and put the phone to my ear.

"Party central, how may I help you?" He drawled down the phone.

"Tony, it's me, where are you?"

"Just turning onto 6th, why?"

"Because we've got eyes on one of _them_ and they're alone. We're about 400 metres down 3rd, think the plan is to try and pin it down. If you could get here quick, and maybe even suit up for the occasion, that would be just wonderful." Tony muttered an affirmative and I hung up, looking back at Steve. "We're too conspicuous just standing here, Steve."

"Well what do you suggest then? We can't very well just walk over there." I thought for a second before realising the obvious. I turned us round until his back was against the wall and I was pressed up against his (very well defined) chest. His hands reflexively settled on my hips and he looked down at me in confusion. "Look over that way towards it, and don't get any ideas." Steve (bless him once again) did as I asked, even though he didn't know exactly why, and I ducked under his chin and began nuzzling his neck. To anyone walking by, it would just look like a woman giving a man a hickey, which was hardly a strange sight around these parts. I tried very hard to ignore how good he smelled, because I was kinda sorta with Loki and that would be _very very bad_. I was vaguely aware of his fingers tightening slightly on my hips, and prayed that this wasn't giving him the wrong signals (yes he was very attractive, but no, no, NO). After about ten minutes, I heard a dull clanking and pulled back, seeing Tony land (with Clint stumbling out of his grip) at the far end of the alley. I stepped back from Steve, suppressing a blush that would match his and jogged down to meet them halfway. I hoped to God they hadn't seen us. Tony would never let it go.

"Where is it?" Tony's facemask flipped up and his brown eyes were sparkling with adrenaline. Steve skidded to a halt behind me and jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"About 200 metres that way. We wanted to wait to get backup."

"Alright then. I take it we're going to go interrogate it?" Clint waved the bow he was grasping tightly in our faces and I nodded.

"We can't really just walk away, can we? We were only meant to get a rough idea of the area, but it's too good an opportunity to miss I guess." We cautiously made our way back towards the 'woman' who was crouching over a body, her mouth at his neck (I tried to ignore the voice at the back of my mind that was saying _that's sort of what you were just doing to Steeeeveeee_. I hadn't done anything wrong..._oh god, don't let Loki ever ever EVER find out_). The body stirred weakly, and Steve made to break into a run, but I grabbed his bicep.

"No Steve!" I hissed.

"They're still alive!"

"Yes, and if we save them, we turn the damn thing rabid. Either that guy dies now, or the thing goes on a wild killing spree and who knows how many people it'll chow on before we can take it down?" He still looked like he was about to run for it.

"She's right, Steve. Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices." Clint murmured, keeping his eyes on the figures opposite us. He sighed, looking angry.

"That man's life shouldn't be our sacrifice to make." He said bitterly, turning his face away.

"Jarvis, let me know when it's safe to go in, okay?" Tony muttered, and I realised that we literally had to just wait for the guy to die. My throat clenched, but I pushed the emotions away. Now was not the time. I could mourn the nameless man later.

**~X~**

It felt like we were waiting forever. It felt so wrong to want the wait to be shorter, because it was the last moments of that guy's life, but I did. I couldn't help it, and I hated myself for it. Tony tapped me on the shoulder and nodded. We approached the woman – at least she looked like a woman – from behind, walking carefully and as quietly as possible. She stopped abruptly, her back to us.

"Hello there." Initially, her voice sounded almost musical, but there was a dark undercurrent that couldn't be ignored. Barton prodded me forward, and I realised that I was going to have to do some of my on the spot thinking again. Oh boy.

"Hey! Ohmigosh I REALLY love your jacket!" I stumbled forward as if I was slightly drunk and felt the others melt away into the shadows behind me. "Where did you get it? I've been looking for something like that for ages and I just couldn't find _anything_." I faked tripping over an uneven paving slab and giggled as I righted myself. Then (naturally) I actually tripped and landed on all fours, my hands impulsively going out to break my fall. I stood up and looked at the blood pooling on my palms. _Shit_.

"Oh, it looks like I'm very lucky tonight." The woman said, stalking towards me. I plastered the clueless look back on my face as I backed away from her.

"What do you mean? Gosh, do you have a tissue or something? I don't wanna mess up my shirt." I babbled as I felt my back flatten against the wall.

"Really, honey, did you think that the facade of a simpleton would work on me?" She stopped in front of me and I straightened up, a smirk twisting my mouth.

"No, I didn't, but it did give my friends the chance to surround you." I said cheerfully just as a bolt of energy from Tony's hand blew her halfway down the alley. I exhaled as Tony and Clint ran straight after her. Steve put his hand on my shoulder, looking at me all concerned. "I'm fine dude, but could you have cut that any closer?" We sprinted after them and found them pinning her in a corner with an arrow pointing at her eyesocket.

"Wow, you're good." She breathed, laughing in a way that was far too confident for my liking, considering we had her literally cornered. "I'm almost impressed."

"Alright buttercup, let's keep this succinct and we'll kill you quickly. We know who...or rather _what_ you are, so don't get cute. How many of you are there? She laughed.

"More than enough to kick your ass into next millennium, metal man." I blinked. For some vampire from outer space, she was..._sassy_. Tony responded by punching her in the face, causing unnaturally thick blood to trickle out of her nose. "You shouldn't hit ladies, did your mother never tell you that?"

"You're no lady. Now tell us, how many are you?" Steve had his arms folded, his biceps bulging impressively. I felt like I should be looking more threatening and remembered the gun in my waistband.

"Oooh, even the kitten has claws." She smirked as I clicked the safety off.

"Answer the question or I'll show you exactly how sharp they can be." I smiled sweetly at her. I hated to admit it, but I was kinda enjoying this.

"I'm scared." She mocked and Clint pressed the arrowhead into her temple.

"Don't get cute." He warned. She pouted up at him, and I saw him blink uncertainly. _Damn_.

"Okay, enough of this crap." I aimed carefully and put a bullet into her shoulder. She cried out in pain as more of the thick blood seeped out of the wound. "Tell me how many there are of you, or the next one goes through your skull."

"That wouldn't kill me." She sneered.

"No, but I bet it would fucking hurt. Would you like to find out?" My voice was steely and I saw her look a little surprised. Steve put his foot against the jagged hole and she wailed again.

"Five! There are five more!" She almost seemed as though she was sobbing.

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" The blasters in Tony's hands glowed threateningly.

"You don't, but you're going to kill me anyway, so why would I lie?"

"There are six of you?" Steve confirmed and she nodded.

"Well, it was nice chatting to you guys." She grinned and suddenly she disappeared. Clint was knocked flat on his back as she ran past him, cackling wildly. Steve and Tony ran after her while I knelt at Clint's side, checking for injuries. His eyes were unfocussed and he seemed all confused.

"Clint! Snap out of it!" He was staring after what was now just a cloud of dust and I sighed. I slapped him sharply, feeling his face snap to the side. "Clint. Seriously dude." His vision cleared and he looked at me.

"She...she got to me, didn't she?"

"I think she...well, you definitely didn't exchange any bodily fluids, so I think you're alright. I don't quite know what happened. Come on, we may as well get back to base, I doubt Tony and Steve will be able to catch her." He nodded and I pulled him to his feet. I couldn't help but notice that he leant on me quite heavily as we left.

**That was quite long. I'm proud. Please leave me a review – I can almost taste 100 reviews again (plus it's my birthday on the 6th, and I would love to have 100 reviews by then...). You will win a metaphorical Totoro plushy. Yeah!**


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

**...hi. Remember me? Yeah, I'm that bitch who hasn't updated in...two months. Shite. I'm sorry. I was going to write a load while I was away in Minehead at the end of October, but I got really really ill and spent Halloween worshipping the Porcelain God, and then it was my birthday (sweet 16, bitches!), and then I had two weeks of mock exams, and then I had to spend AGES making Jen's birthday video (nice Gangnam Style parody...search Llama Style TheExplodingLlamas if you wanna see me making a fool of myself), and then asdfghjkl. I'm really sorry, and I know I'm just making excuses, but I do feel bad.**

**In any case, today I broke up for Christmas, and have got over two weeks until I need to be back at school, so I have no reason not to write (what's that? Homework? EFF THAT!). Also, I had a shite day, so imma take my angst out on the characters. Namely, Loki. Enjoy his POV for a bit. And thank you for over 100 reviews, that makes me very happy – I can't believe the reception this story (and Jailbait) gets even when I neglect you!**

**Happy holidays!  
Saskia xxx**

**~Loki POV~**

I disliked cars. They were unnatural and unnerving, and I felt trapped like a caged animal waiting for slaughter. The tension in the vehicle was palpable, and I couldn't wait to get out of there, but from the disjointed conversation between Romanoff (who was driving) and the beast (who was navigating), I gathered we still had another two or so hours before we reached our destination. I stretched out across the backseat, wishing that the machine wasn't so claustrophobic for someone of my stature. Bruce turned around in alarm at my sudden movement and I held my hands up in exasperation.

"What, I'm not allowed to move at all in this infernal machine?" I snapped, my patience wearing thin. It was risky, talking like that to the doctor, but he clearly had more patience than I.

"Loki, you know the precautions we have to take around you, and for good reason. Please don't make this any more difficult than it already has to be, if we cooperate I'm sure we'll be finished here sooner." I scoffed, but lay back in my seat again, glaring at the strap that was jabbing into my neck. This mortal body would drive me insane – so sensitive to every slight discomfort, so easy to damage. I recalled the day Lily had taught me how to use the cooker, and I'd burnt my hand on the heat. Such an injury would heal within hours for my Jotun body, but I had to keep it bandaged for nearly two weeks.

I had come to understand why the All-Father (damn him to hell) had made the decision to send me to Earth in a human body, to live with humans for twenty years (barely any time at all in the grand scale of things), but that didn't mean I didn't resent it for every second I spent here. Since my exile, questions had arisen in my mind that I had no way of answering; would my body age like a human's would over twenty years? Would I revert to how I was before my exile after I was through with my spell here? And what of Lily? I had found that time passes excruciatingly slowly as a mortal, and I knew that my attachment to her would only grow...would I be able to leave her behind?

This thought naturally brought me onto thoughts Lily and I as a unit, and I shifted uncomfortably. I would be lying if I denied my fondness of her, and I would be lying if I said that it didn't scare me. The only people I had cared for on a scale close to this before were Thor, Frigga and Odin, and all three had betrayed me in some way. My faith in their love for me had made me blind, and it was a constant worry for me that Lily would break my trust in her in the way my family had. Everyone I have ever cared for had thrown it back in my face, and I was wary of it happening again.

But I couldn't help but care for her. She had befriended me when I was at my most vulnerable, when everyone else treated me like bilgesnipe, and continued to believe that I was capable of goodness as I wreaked havoc upon her world. And now, being away from her after being in her close company for months...I missed her. There was a dull ache in my stomach that I had only ever experienced once before: on the roof when I killed her. I had seen her just this morning, and yet it felt like we had been parted for days. I wondered whether this was what love feels like. Then I became aware of what I was thinking and shook myself. I could not love her. True, I had become dependant on her company in anticipation of making it through these years of exile, and I certainly enjoyed the intimacy we had established, but that wasn't conducive to love, was it? She was just a...friend, a very good friend. Who I kissed a lot. And fantasised about. _Curse these human emotions_.

I returned to my original question: would I be able to leave her behind after my exile had ended? If I felt this way after just a few hours away from her, how would I feel if I was a few worlds away? In my immortal body, I could suppress human emotions fairly well, but what I felt for her seemed to far surpass any other human urge I had experienced. I asked myself why I hadn't slept with her...and by slept I of course mean had sex. We had _slept_ together many times, but never gone further than a few wandering hands and flirting with nudity. In all my relationships before (none as emotionally weighted as this one), sex had been a matter of course, usually within days of meeting, but for some reason I was holding out with her. My mind wandered back to Frigga giving me life lessons, and one such lesson stood out in particular.

"_There are some decisions that have to be made quickly; decisions like the ones your father makes all the time. These are the decisions that are based upon instinct, and that will have an immediate effect on you and the people around you, or the people you lead. You, my dear Loki, are very good at these instinctive decisions, but you tend to rush the other sort – the decisions that need time and thought. You think of something and you say it; you have an idea which you carry out instantly. This sort of behaviour will not treat you well in the future, when such decisions carry more weight than whether you fill your brother's bed with ants or honey. Decisions of the heart carry more meaning the longer they are considered. If you do something and you have _**waited**_ to do it, and you have _**longed**_ to do it, and you have thought carefully about _**why**_ you are doing it and _**what**_ it will make you feel, that action will be so much more rewarding and special than any impulsive action. This is also true for the way you treat other people; treat them with careful thought and consideration, afford them respect, and in turn you too will be respected._

This, I realised, was the reason for my abstinence. I wanted sex with Lily to be meaningful and significant – to be emotionally rewarding as well as physically rewarding. I..._damn it_. I wanted to make love to her, not to have sex with her.

I wanted to love her.

This revelation arrived just as we came to a stop, and I couldn't get out of the damn car fast enough. I turned my face towards the light breeze coming from towards the setting sun and exhaled slowly. In actuality, the epiphany shouldn't come as so much of a surprise to me – subconsciously, I think I'd probably known ever since the rooftop. I turned around back towards the car and saw Romanoff and Banner heading towards a smallish motel, carrying bags over shoulders and dragging suitcases behind them. I looked back towards the sunset, appreciating how easily I could run; even as a human, I was fast, and they weren't paying any attention to me. I sighed, turning my back on my freedom, knowing that if I had any hope of returning to immortality, I had to cooperate. Bah.

**~X~**

"This will be yours and Bruce's room. Sorry you have to share, but it was short notice booking us in here, and S.H.I.E.L.D can't go pulling rank over little businesses like these – word could travel very easily into the wrong ears in exchange for a few hundred." I followed the Widow into the small but clean room and surveyed the two neatly made single beds and furnishings, keeping my face stoic as I inwardly longed for the luxuries I was surrounded by in Asgard. "The light's almost gone, so we're going to head out to the Bifrost site in the morning rather than go now...Bruce is calling up for a takeaway now." At the mention of takeaway food, I perked up a little – it was delicious in a disgusting way, regardless of what type it was. "I'll leave you to get settled in." The redhead was already edging out of the room, her discomfort around me just as evident as ever. She clearly hadn't forgotten our encounter aboard the Helicarrier...or forgiven me for controlling her precious Barton. I wasn't going to apologise. I had done enough grovelling to people over whom I should lord. The door swung closed behind her and I slumped on one of the beds, the one nearest the window, dropping the bag Lily had packed for me on the floor next to it. I glared a new pattern into the ceiling while I waited to be called through, wishing that I could talk to Lily but knowing she'd probably be busy...working or flirting, either was a possibility with her. I'd always had a jealous streak a mile wide, and here it reared its head, causing a tightening in my chest as I imagine her batting her eyelids at Stark or her gaze sliding down to Rodgers' rear. I closed my eyes and thought of the way she looked at me, recalling the warmth in her eyes that was so foreign to me in the past, and my chest loosened. I heard someone stop outside my door and sat up expectantly.

"Food's in, Loki." Banner called mildly, and I took a moment to appreciate how controlled he was...it was admirable, even I had to admit it...then again, I was hardly a poster boy for self control. I sat on the sagging couch alongside...Bruce...and accepted the plate of Indian food from Romanoff with a polite nod. Lily had told me there was no harm in being civil, and I'm sure it would help convince the All-Father of my 'good intentions' (aka, give me back my magic please and I promise I won't use it to destroy Midgard). I noticed the two agents exchanging looks, clearly surprised at my ability to be polite, and rolled my eyes – I could be positively charming if I wanted to, but I didn't want to further their suspicions.

That night, when the doctor was snoring gently in the bed next to mine, I opened the window above my bed and jumped out, landing with an 'oof' but on my feet. I straightened up and centred myself – I'd discovered that while I couldn't use magic, I could sense it, and the Bifrost site held residual power that was as obvious to me as a shining beacon of light. I set off at a jog, accelerating as the pull of the magic became stronger. By the time I reached the site, there was a thin gleam of sweat on my forehead and my breathing was coming fast, but I stopped and once again exhaled slowly. I turned a half circle and raised my head.

"Heimdall! I know you can hear me, and that you know what I request. You know I will not beg in front of the humans, so hear me beg now. Please! Have I not proved my worth here? I live amongst those who should be beneath me, and I do so with minimal complaint. I assure you, my intentions towards this planet and its people have changed, and you know why. The Valkyris must be stopped, and I cannot help the so-called Avengers as I am. Please. Do not shun me now when I am trying to do good, regardless of how much animosity I have faced here." My calls echoed in the dark night and I sighed. I could practically _hear_ the gatekeeper ignoring me.

The next morning, I was woken by Banner groaning as he rolled out of his bed, his mouth stretching in a yawn as he stumbled through to the bathroom. I sat up, reaching for a large t shirt to pull on over my grey sleeping trousers (Lily called them tracky bums...some things I would never understand). I ran my hand through my hair, feeling grains of sand rub against my fingers as a reminder of my shameful pleading last night. Today would mark the beginning of the focussed petitioning, consisting of messages to Thor, guilt trips and not so subtle hints that my magic would be of great help. I walked through to the communal area between my shared room and Romanoff's room and filled the kettle up at the small sink next to a cabinet (I swear it was positioned just for me to hit my head on). I found three chipped mugs and put them on the work surface. No one could say I wasn't trying. I made a cup of tea for myself (cursing the fact that I wasn't as good at it as Lily was) and left enough water in the kettle for my two companions to make themselves whatever they wanted. I drank my hot drink quickly, and informed a wet-haired Banner of the full kettle as I passed him on my way to the bathroom. I showered, thinking that such a device was certainly one of Midgard's redeeming features and dressed in my more low-key Asgardian regalia (trousers like none on Earth and the breastplated tunic that only looked a little out of place). I couldn't summon my helmet without magic, and I wished I had its reassuring weight on my head, but I knew that if all went to plan, I would be able to wear it again with pride by the time the week was out.

**~X~**

Once again, I found myself almost admiring the two mortals I was with. It was blisteringly cold, and we had been calling for hours. Their stamina was astounding – even I was beginning to tire, but the Black Widow continued to shout the names of the missing and the dead, while Banner monitored the activity of what I knew as magic, but what he knew as something more scientific in the area. I interjected with recollections of how well Thor had fought the Valkyris before, and how ineffective the Avengers would be against them without a little help, before saying how much of a shame it was that I could not help. It was demeaning, and it was only the thought that I would be able to protect Lily if our petitioning was successful that prevented me from giving up and walking away. By nightfall, we admitted defeat for the day, and agreed to return tomorrow. I glared up at the sky as we trudged back towards the damned car, certain that Odin was being obstinate just to aggravate me and observe my reaction, but I was determined not to rise to his challenge. I was also (begrudgingly) bonding with Natasha and Bruce...bah, even calling them by their forename made me realise how far I fallen...but we still made a few uneasy jokes, and they both relaxed around me, lessening their constant suspicion. Damn it all to hell, this was mortifying.

The same routine continued for the next day, and the next, with me pleading in solitude by night and our joint tactical blackmail in the light of day. It wasn't until the fourth day that we began to see some results. After a few hours of calling – our shouts becoming more and more short tempered – I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as a slight wind swept around us. Bruce excitedly pointed out the spike in whatever energy he was monitoring and we continued our lobbying with renewed enthusiasm. An hour later, it happened. My power returned.

"Bruce! Natasha!" I drew myself up to my full body height and then transformed into my usual state, the helmet appearing on my head and my body growing by a few inches. They saw me and took a few steps back, instantly wary. I ignored them and began testing myself. Even after creating a dozen doubles of myself, I was barely taxed. I laughed out loud, revelling in my return to my true form and rose several metres in the air, creating a sandstorm in my joy. I had no idea it would feel so satisfying to be back. I remembered my company and looked down on them, seeing that Romanoff had levelled her gun at me and Banner's fists were clenched. I sighed. Can a God not have his fun after being shackled by human constraints for so long? I slowly descended, returning to the human appearance with more than a little reluctance. "Put the gun away, Agent Romanoff. After all, this..." I gestured to myself, "...is what we were hoping to achieve." I smirked, the smirk that was filled with self-assurance and smugness.

"What about Thor?" She asked tightly, her gun not wavering. I sighed.

"You people are never happy." I closed my eyes, reaching out with my mind across the realms, finding the beacon that was the remains of the Bifrost and then locating Heimdall. With a grunt, I burst into his mind before retreating enough to not be imposing on his thoughts, merely receptive to what he was transmitting.

"_Will Thor be joining us, Gatekeeper?" _I asked drily. In truth, now I was returned to my power, my arrogance began to overwhelm me, and I looked for the restraint that I had been forced to exhibit for the past few months on Earth.

"_Loki. Your father-"_

"_He's not my father."_

"_Your father has asked me to remind you that should you abuse the power he has so generously returned to you, the consequences will be severe." _Heimdall's voice boomed around my head, causing me to wince.

"_Yes, I know, I know, 'Be a good boy or Daddy will be angry and make you stay on Earth for an extra ten years', blah blah blah. Where is Thor?"_ Even in my head, my voice was derisive.

"_The consequences will be weightier than that." _His voice was steely, and I composed myself.

"_Where. Is. Thor?" _For a man of few words, the gatekeeper of the Bifrost certainly wasn't being very direct.

"_He is making preparations to return to Midgard. He will arrive within three Earth hours, directly to your lodgings."_ Abruptly, I was shut out of Heimdall's mind and opened my eyes with a jolt. I swayed unsteadily for a moment, the effects of communicating across Yggdrasil suddenly taking their toll. I shook myself and addressed Banner and Romanoff.

"Thor is returning to Earth. He'll transport straight to our motel." The relief upon their faces was excessively obvious. The doctor and I began packing up our supplies and loading them into the car while Romanoff contacted S.H.I.E.L.D to inform them of what had transpired. Banner looked at me as I dusted my hands off, his gaze steady and unafraid.

"Can we trust you?" His question drew me up short.

"I'm sorry?" I asked disbelievingly.

"You've got what you came for, your magic is back. What's stopping you running off and going for world domination again? What evidence do we have that proves that we can trust you?" I glared at him.

"I have one word for you. One word that is evidence enough; one word that keeps me here willingly; one word that will answer all of your questions regarding my intentions. That word is Lily." I hissed. He studied me carefully, and then nodded. I turned my heel, suppressing the urge to blast a hole in the fabric of the universe with my newly regained powers.

**~X~**

An hour later, I was walking through the streets of the small town in order to get adequate food to satisfy my brother's ridiculous appetite. Agent Romanoff had been uneasy about letting me out of her sight, but Banner had pointed out that he could use the same technology he had used to monitor the Bifrost to track me, so she begrudgingly agreed. I sauntered down the narrow alleyway with a confidence I hadn't felt in ages, an arrogance that blocked my mind from sensing the supernatural presence behind me until a knife was held at my throat. I froze, sniffed, and sighed.

"I should have known." I commented, turning slowly to see my assailant. The woman smiled, her lips already forming the words to the spell that would effectively blanket me, making my power untraceable to Banner. Resistance would be futile.

**Duh duh duuuuuuuunnnnn. I was originally going to split this into two chapters, but my sister said it would be better to upload it as one bigger one to compensate for my long absence. What do you think? Shorter chapters more often, or bigger chapters every couple of weeks? Also, ASDFGHJKL;LKJHGBKFLGHIJGFD WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS CHAPTER I WAS ALSO ORGANISING GOING TO MEET JOHN AND HANK GREEN WITH JEN AND AMBER AND OHMIGOD I'M MEETING THE VLOGBROTHERS IN FEBRUARY AND I CAN'T AND WHAT IS AIR. Excuse me. Reviewers win a Christmas tree decorated with Tom Hiddleston's face, and the more I get, the more likely I am to update again before Christmas. I love your face, and DFTBA! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

**For this chapter, I request that you listen to Get Down On Your Knees And Tell Me You Love Me by All Time Low. This song actually inspired me to write this sequel, and without it, I probably wouldn't know where I was going in terms of a plot.**

**This chapter contains both Natasha and Lily POV, but I think we'll be back to Loki before long. Please review, I'm always opened to constructive criticism and suggestions! Speaking of reviews...you do know I reply to all the signed reviews I get, right? I barely got any for the last chapter, and it's an arrogant truth that I've come to expect more than three for this story! Please let me know you're still there! Also, I had a request for some fluff in this chapter...but I love torturing my characters too much for that!**

**It's not quite Christmas where I am – another hour or so – but I'm sure some of you are reading this in between opening presents etc, so Merry Christmas everyone!**

**Saskia xxx**

**~Natasha POV~**

"That's odd." I turned around from my post at the window and looked at Bruce to see his forehead crinkling in a frown as he studied his laptop.

"What?" I asked, crossing the room to him.

"I lost the signal."

"What, you mean you've lost Loki?" I clarified, tensing as he nodded.

"It happened a couple of times out at the site, maybe it's a glitch in the software...he should reappear in a minute." We both watched the monitor intently for any sign of a magical trace, but after five minutes, I straightened up.

"He's done a runner. Goddammit!" I threw a mug against the wall in frustration, causing Bruce to duck out of the way in alarm. "We fucking lost him, Fury's gonna murder us and I'm going to be stuck on a desk job for the rest of forever!" I grabbed a handgun from within my bag and headed for the door. "Where was he last?" I asked Bruce.

"Head down the road about four hundred metres, turn left, and then there's a small alleyway about a hundred metres down on your right." The doctor was cleaning his glasses, an action that seemed to be almost some sort of comfort blanket to him. I ran out of our room and into the street, sprinting towards his last location as fast as I could. Several people shouted after me, and parents pulled their children towards them protectively, out of the way of the redhead with a gun. I skidded round the corner into the alleyway, calling out uselessly.

"Loki! Loki, I swear to God...Loki!" My voice was hoarse, already strained from the four days of nearly continuous shouting to the sky, and my chest was heaving with the sudden exertion. I moved down the small enclosed space gun first, stopping as I saw the graffiti on the brickwork.

_You were foolish to have trusted me. I have joined your enemies, and I will destroy you. I will rip you limb from limb, and when I have done that, my allies will bathe in your lifeblood._

This graffiti wasn't just spray paint. It was gauged into the wall, and I knew it had been put there by magic. There was no need for a signature. Loki had betrayed us in the worst way possible.

Lily was going to be heartbroken.

**~X~**

I returned to the room reluctantly, knowing that I was going to have to report to Fury the moment I arrived, and found there a very tense Bruce accompanied by Thor, who had clearly just arrived.

"Lady Natasha, it is good to see you again. I only wish it were in more favourable circumstances." He smiled at me, his blonde hair falling down across his arms. "Where is my brother? I was told that he would be waiting for me here."

"You didn't tell him?" I addressed Bruce, but he shrugged, the tendons in his forearms bulging out as his fists clenched. Apparently the big guy had noticed the blonde guy's presence and was making hum edgy. "We lost him." Thor's face was like thunder. Ha ha. Thor like thunder. I felt a sudden urge to burst into hysterical laughter. "He went out to get food, we were tracking him but the signal cut out. He must have masked his power somehow and ran." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and clicked onto the picture I had taken in the alley. "I found this on the wall. He's joined the Valkyris." While Bruce and Thor studied the photo, I picked up the S.H.I.E.L.D issue communicator and spoke into it. "This is Agent Romanoff. Loki has escaped. I repeat, Loki has escaped. He's joined the enemy, do _not_ trust him under any circumstances."

"Understood. Thank you, Agent Romanoff, please make your way back to base with Banner and Thor." Maria Hill's voice had an uncanny ability to sound virtually calm in any situation – she was one person who I could never get a read on. I relayed our orders to the two men and they nodded, Thor sitting on the small sofa (that looked as though it would give out under his weight) while Bruce collected together his things. He went into the room he and Loki had been sharing and came out with both of their bags. I stepped into the bathroom and used the facilities quickly, shaking my hands off as I went from there to my bedroom in order to pick up my things. I swung the small holdall over my shoulder and met Bruce and Thor in the living area.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Lead the way." Bruce gestured towards the door, and I did one quick visual sweep of the area to check we hadn't left anything behind.

"I am famished." Thor announced, and I rolled my eyes.

"We'll stop at a drive through on the way. Bruce, do you and Thor want to take our stuff while I check out?" He murmured an affirmative. Half an hour later we were on the highway, Thor sat in the backseat with half of McDonalds as I speeded down the tarmac at twice the limit. I was not looking forward to reporting to the Director – I didn't even want to imagine his reaction – and I knew I wasn't going to be able to look Lily in the eye for...well, years most likely. While all of us were now threatened by him, it was only going to be an emotional blow to her. I remembered how I felt when Clint had been compromised; having to fight against him was one of the hardest things I'd ever done, and I'd been going on assassination missions since I was ten. My knuckles turned white as I tightened my hands on the steering wheel, and I promised myself that I wouldn't leave Lily in the position of having to take down – or even face – Loki unless she specifically said she wanted to. Somehow, I doubted that she would.

**~Lily POV~**

I woke up from my corner of the room to the sound of a phone ringing. As all the boys were clearly far too unconscious to register it, I dragged myself to my feet and padded over to the shelf unit where the S.H.I.E.L.D issue communicator had been thrown. I picked it up.

"Agent Lazarus." I yawned, covering my mouth with a hand.

"You will return to base. A situation has arisen." I frowned.

"Why, what's the situation?" I asked as I nudged Clint (who was closest) with my foot.

"You'll be informed when you arrive. Leave as soon as possible, and don't leave any trace of you presence behind." Hill's tone was very short, and I could tell she was holding out on me.

"Well, the Valkyris know we're onto them, we apprehended one a few nights ago, but I think Steve and Tony found their main headquarters..." She cut me off.

"You can report when you're here, just hurry up." She hung up and Clint looked at my blearily from his position at my feet.

"We've got the summons back to base, something's come up." His ability to wake up quickly was astonishing, he was on his feet within seconds. S.H.I.E.L.D training really was admirable. "Do you wanna pack up while I wake up the others?" He nodded.

"Did she say what happened?" He asked as he began throwing used paper plates in a black bin bag.

"No, she just said a 'situation had arisen'." I shook Steve by the shoulder, trying my hardest to ignore how adorable he looked while he slept (he was all rosy cheeks and messy blonde hair, so cute..._stop it Lily_). "Get up, we're leaving." He nodded, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. I woke Tony up in the same way, and within the hour, we were making our way up to the roof to the helicopter. I caught Clint massaging his temples as we jogged up the stairs and pulled ahead of Steve so I was level with him. "You alright to fly, Clint?"

"I'm fine, just got a headache." He dismissed my question shortly, but I couldn't help but remember how many times I'd seen him with his head in his hands ever since our first encounter with the Valkyris. We arrived back at Stark Tower at sunrise without incident (though I did fall asleep on Steve shoulder during the journey...I tried to ignore the bag he was holding over his lap when I woke up). While I slept, I had had a dream, and it was a very strange dream. In it, Loki and I were sat on the edge of Tony's roof, like we had on the morning before we went our separate ways. He looked sad, and I asked him why. He turned my face to his, and when I looked at him, I could almost see right through him, as if he wasn't really there at all.

"_Don't believe what they say about me, Lily."_ As he spoke, he disappeared, and I woke up seriously confused. My brain was so weird. I put the dream out of mind as Fury met us on the roof when we disembarked.

"There's no easy way to say this." He said as we stood in front of him, the genius billionnaire playboy philanthropist, the soldier out of his time, the bow-and-arrow wielding assassin and me, the short still-a-teenager with a few hidden talents; a motley crew to say the least. Fury's eye settled on me, and my smile faded. "Loki has betrayed us. He defected to the Valkyris' cause a few hours ago." My heart dropped, and blood rushed to my head. I swayed on my feet and I felt a hand steady my elbow – Steve.

"You got it wrong." I muttered, trying to convince myself as much as anything.

"Unfortunately, we have not. Briefing in the conference room in five minutes." He turned around, disappearing down the stairs with his black coat swishing behind him. I stared after him blankly.

"Breathe, Lily." Tony murmured and I exhaled suddenly, realising that in my shock, I had inadvertently held my breath. My legs gave out and I sat down in the shadow of the helicopter.

"They're wrong, they're wrong." I whispered like a mantra, feeling the angry tears prick at my eyes.

"Come on sunshine, let's go find out what happened so we can work out where they've gone wrong, right love?" Tony wrapped and arm around my waist and pulled me back to my feet, guiding me towards the stairs. It was a mistake. It had to be.

**~X~**

It wasn't a mistake. Even I couldn't deny it, not after hearing Natasha recount what had happened. The writing in the alley was projected onto Stark's wall, and I recognised his handwriting at first glance. He really had done it. He had joined the Valkyris. Everything had been a lie.

I don't know who I hated more, him or myself.

Natasha followed me as I ran out of the room, up to the roof where I had last seen him, unable to sit in the same room as people plotting against the guy I loved. I sat where I had sat in my dream, not bothering to stop the tears streaking down my cheeks. I sensed her sitting a little way down from me, and glared at her.

"Why didn't you stop him?" I screamed at her, the wind taking away most of the volume from my words. "He was your responsibility, why did you let him out on his own?"

"I didn't think." She replied softly, avoiding my eyes. "I thought I could rely on technology to keep him within our sights, but I've learnt my lesson. I can rely my own two eyes and my instincts, nothing else." She sighed. "I'm sorry. It must be so hard for you." I laughed bitterly.

"Hard is right. I don't know why I ever trusted him. Koli was right – I am blind to him playing me. Every single damn time, I follow my heart and not my head, and this is the result. Why do I bother? Why did I think for one _second_ that his feelings for me were real? He makes such a fool of me, and yet still I can't help but cry because he's left me. He played on my feelings, used them like a weapon...fuck it!" I punched the ground next to me, feeling the gravel cutting into my skin but not caring. As I buried my face in my hands, Natasha stood up quietly and placed a hand on my shoulder for a second before leaving me. I was stupid, _stupid_, for loving him. I knew this, and yet, my heart felt like it was literally breaking in two. I wasn't sure if I would be able to fight him again, but what choice did I have? I'd done it before, I'd have to do it again.

His words from my dream floated into my mind..._Don't believe what they say about me, Lily_. For a moment, my heart lifted – perhaps it was a message, perhaps the situation was being misinterpreted, perhaps...no, stop being ridiculous, Lily. The God of Mischief and Lies...of course I would believe his affections for me were real; of course he could convince me (unjustly) that there was still hope for him. He was going to be the death of me (again), I knew it. I never should have expected anything better of him.

_I've been played a fool four, three, too many times and  
When did lust for you become an organised crime?  
I tried to keep you honest, babe, but I was just a pawn  
You played the part so well, it hurts to know you're gone..._

_Did you mean it? Could you feel it  
When you broke into my head?  
Did you fake it just to break another stranger in your bed?  
Was it worth it? Was it perfect  
When you up and left me cynical?  
Like you planned it, you're a bandit  
Just a no-good, two-bit, filthy, rotten criminal._

**Song is from ATL's 2011 album Dirty Work (DCG Records). No copyright infringement intended.**

**Review to fight for your right to PAAAAARRRRRT-AAYYYYY! xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

**In my original plan, I hadn't planned for this to be revealed so early, but I think it works better, so here is chapter 12 in Loki's POV (oh, and Lily POV later). Quite dialogue heavy, I'm afraid, but hopefully it'll clear a few things up. It's snowing here, and so I've had a day of no school, which is always nice, even if a little belated for a white Christmas! Hope you all had a great holiday, and that you are all revising hard for any exams you are taking (I should be revising. And again I'm writing fanfiction).**

**~Loki POV~**

My head hurt. There was a dull ache throbbing across my temples that I usually associated with the morning after a night of copious drinking, and as I tried to raise a hand to my forehead I discovered that they were tied tightly at the elbows to a straight backed chair. I sighed inwardly, opening my eyes begrudgingly to see the faces of my captor swim into focus. Smiling, I straightened, attempting to recover at least some dignity while I used my newly-regained powers to sooth my head.

"You know, I've got a phone. I mean, very clever and all that. But you could just phone me. On my phone." I smirked – Lily would've been very proud of my quoting Sherlock (I quite liked that Moriarty character).

"When one is avoiding the attention of the so-called Avengers, one learns to be discreet." I blinked. Creatures from another realm and yet they were still up to date on Earth pop culture.

"I see you've done your research." I commented drily.

"In order to stage a covert invasion, blending in is imperative."

"You haven't done such a good job of that." My scoff earned me a sharp slap across the cheek – merely a warning now I was returned to my godlike state, but I understood it well enough. "I only mean to say that your body count is a little high for people attempting secrecy."

"There are always casualties of war."

"Oh, so this is war, is it?" My kidnapper leant forward suddenly, hissing violently. She was masquerading as an attractive woman of perhaps mid-twenties, but I could see a deadness in her eyes that told me it wasn't her true form.

"Of course it is." She pulled another chair up and sat straddling it facing me.

"And what am I in this 'war'?" Her eyes narrowed.

"An ally."

"And if I refuse?"

"That won't be an option." She smiled, and it was a strain to keep my face nonchalant.

"In that case, what am I to call you?" Her laugh was shrill and delighted – it would have made a lesser being wince.

"My name is Una, and I am the leader of our pack."

"I've never heard of you creatures hunting in packs before."

"Watch your tongue, Mischief, or I will have to cut it out. We are not like the others – they grew complacent, while we retained our recollection of our superiority." Una stood and stalked to the window, glaring out at the city. "We noticed your presence here, and hoped an allegiance could be made, as our aspirations are compatible."

"Perhaps the memo passed you by, but I'm supposed to be on my best behaviour now – world domination is off the cards for the next twenty years, I'm afraid, but I appreciate the thought." Una looked down at me, trailing her fingers down my cheek as she sat on my lap.

"Oh but I'm afraid you broke your parole, Mischief. The message you left on the wall of that alleyway...it really was very plain." Comprehension dawned on me as the woman whispered in my ear. "_You were foolish to have trusted me_, you said. _I have joined your enemies_, you said. _I will rip you limb from limb, and when I have done that, my allies will bathe in your lifeblood_, you said. A tad on the dramatic side, but you've certainly got style."

"You set me up." I growled and she laughed.

"Of course we did, Mischief, but are you really so incensed? After all, this is what you wanted, is it not? Freedom from those humans who gave themselves authority over you, freedom to instate yourself in your rightful position, freedom to take revenge on those who were foolish enough to trust you..." My jaw clenched. "Unless of course, something's changed?" _Don't play coy, you bitch, get to the damned point, I know exactly what you're doing_. "You do still want revenge, don't you?" Her face puckered into a perfect pout. "My dear Mischief, you don't _care_ for any of them, do you? You know they are not worthy to clean your boots? Remember what they have done to you, what they forced you into..."

"They did not rob me of my powers, Odin did."

"No, but they aided him, and now you have regained your powers, Midgard is only the first step. We can use them to take Asgard, and become rulers across the realms!" Una smiled, and for a second I believed her, believed in what she was saying, before restraining myself.

"I have found out the hard way that some power is beyond anyone's reach, and to try to steal it is in vain."

"You are not the God you used to be, are you, Mischief? Why is that, I wonder? It's not because of one of them, is it? Not because of _Lily_?" She smirked as I glared at her.

"If any one of your kind harms her, or she gets damaged in any way because of you, I will end you." I snarled.

"My dear Mischief, then you will end us – she has already been harmed. Svetlana!" My eyes followed the tall redhead into the room suspiciously. There was a bandage wrapped around her shoulder, but it didn't appear to phase her. She noticed my gaze and gestured to it.

"Courtesy of Agent Lazarus. Quite a firecracker you've got there, Mischief. Of course, her blood stained the ground as well as mine." I strained against my bonds, but they held fast.

"I swear..."

"No need for that, she wasn't seriously harmed. Only a scratch or two." I focussed my magic on the ropes holding me and they began to smoulder, scorching my wrists but freeing me at the same time. I stood up, growing an extra foot or so as I melted into my deity form, and the two creatures looked at each other.

"I am going to kill you." I stated plainly.

"Lily is not only harmed because of us, Mischief." Una held her hands in front of her defensively. "Your betrayal has grieved her severely – she is injured to her very soul." I blinked, and in that split second Svetlana seized a small blade and ran it across my palm, splitting the skin open. She held the blade positioned across her own wrist, and I realised what was about to happen. "Don't make us do this, Loki." The redhead touched the blade to her skin without breaking it, at the same time forcing me to keep my palm open. "Now, how about we sit down and discuss this in a civil manner? I believe that diplomacy and negotiation are valued very highly on this planet." I glared at both of them, but shrank back to human-sized – it was either that or become enslaved; even I could not resist their compulsion.

"What is it you want me to do?" I asked as Una sent the clearly subordinate Svetlana away.

"Why, is that not obvious?" She smiled as she waved towards the two abandoned chairs, and we sat. "You know much about us, Mischief, and about how we act, and about what we need. Why do you think we waited until your magic had been returned to you to act?" Realisation filled my mind, and I definitively shook my head.

"I don't have that sort of power." My voice was firm.

"We both know that's not quite true, is it, Lies? Who is famed throughout the Nine Realms for his command of magic? Who can create an army of doppelgangers without blinking? Who fell from the Bifrost and survived?"

"I will have no part in making more of you despicable cretins."

"Oh, but you will. It would be so easy for Lily to have an accident, don't you think?"

"And why would you believe that I care?"

"Would you like me to test that? I can call Inga and Dagr, and have them kill her right now – they are quite simply _mechanical_ in how they go about murder. Or perhaps Rakel – she is young and messy, Lily would not die quickly. Or my Sindri, whose torture methods were infamous as a human, and he has so much more at his disposal now. Well, Mischief? What will it be? Will you help our cause, and rise to your rightful position as a lord of this land? Or are you content to let your beloved die without a chance of redemption? Because I am telling you, Mischief, one word from me and she will be dead within a day, and you will be free to rejoin the Avengers...that is, if they let you through the door." She held my gaze for a long minute as I debated.

"As you wish." I said finally, tilting my head, and she frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean? I would enjoy killing Lily as much as I want you on my side – she spilt the blood of my second, and that is not something I take lightly. Give me your answer, Mischief, and no lies or trickery, because we both know what that will result in." I raised my eyes to the ceiling, sending a quick prayer to Heimdall, hoping that his gaze was focussed on Midgard, asking for him to tell Thor that whatever he may believe, my hands were tied, and I had no choice.

"I will need full and undisturbed access to your books, your files, your history, everything, if I am to help you." I spoke quickly, ignoring the part of my being that was rejoicing at the chance of controlling this race of mindless beasts, ignoring the part of my being that still called humans mindless beasts, and hoping that I could delay actually helping the Valkyris for as long as possible, because I knew that there was no way they'd let me live for very long afterwards.

**~Lily POV~**

I was sat outside the conference room in Stark Tower listening to the Avengers plotting against the Valkyris and Him. They were discussing a raid on the block of warehouses under the creatures' control to take place within the next few days. Bruce was staying quiet, clearly hoping that no one wanted him angry. Tony was being obnoxiously loud as always, constantly interrupting the forever tactical Steve, while Clint and Natasha cut in occasionally with ideas or advice. Thor was eating (which seemed to be all he had done since finding out about Him), and Fury was massaging his temples with the look of a weary schoolteacher. As Koli interrupted with yet another disparaging remark about how they weren't strong enough, I made my mind up. Moping would do me no good, and I was part of the team now. I stood up, wiping my hands across the seat of my trousers quickly before joining them around the table. The conversation instantly silenced – everyone was looking at me in much the same way as you might look at a primed bomb.

"I want in." I said clearly.

"Lily...are you sure?" Natasha asked gently.

"Of course I am. What's the plan?" Tony and Steve exchanged a glance, before the billionaire nodded at the super soldier to continue.

"Okay, we're not certain yet, because obviously we have to treat this situation carefully, but we were thinking we'd split into two group and enter the main warehouse-" Here he indicated a map of the area, pointing to a large rectangle that clearly was the Valkyris' main base. "-from both sides. It's unlikely we'll have the element of surprise on our side, but we will definitely be more prepared than they are. We take down as many as we can, but the moment things start to look a little hairy, we clear out of there, and return when they are least expecting it. The first group will be Thor and Stark, and the second will be myself, Clint, Natasha, and you, Lily. Bruce will be on standby; we'll call him in if we need to, but we're trying to keep this as low key as possible, we don't need the media on our backs, and the big guy is a little conspicuous." There were murmurs of approval from around the room and Steve looked really pleased with himself.

"So what happens if we retreat and they follow us?" I asked. Fury looked up.

"We'll deal with them. S.H.I.E.L.D still have some tricks up their sleeve asides from you band of freaks." Koli scoffed quietly, but he was ignored by everyone (apart from Hill, who seemed to be looking at him a lot more than she had before...hmmm...).

"Okay, so that's sorted then. When do we leave?" I was itching for a fight, and I think it showed.

"Well we can't just go waltzing straight in, sunshine, preparations have to be made, it'll be a couple of days before my new suit's ready anyway...you sure you're okay?" Tony actually stopped sipping his liquor as he questioned me and I rolled my eyes.

"What do you think, Stark?" My voice was cold, and clearly said that I did not want to be interrogated about my _feelings_, of all things. I wasn't even sure I had the capability of feeling anymore. "Natasha, will you give me some training? Just some sparring and such..." She nodded wordlessly and we left the room together.

Ten minutes later, we were in Tony's gym in training gear, and I was preparing myself for a beating.

"I'm not going to go too hard on you now, because we can't have you damaged going into the fight."

"Don't hold back, Tasha, I heal quick." I plugged my phone into the expensive speaker system and clicked onto a random album. As we began to fight, the lyrics of the song seeped into my mind..._Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men, it is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!_

I _was_ angry, and I wouldn't let myself fall under _his_ control again. This was a new start for me, and I was not going to let anything slow me down.

"OW, SHIT!" I cried, holding one hand out in surrender to Natasha as the other cupped my bloody nose. Well...okay, maybe some things might slow me down. Her fist, for example.

**If you haven't seen Les Mis, you need to – the song is Do You Hear The People Sing? and I have major loves for it. Tried to end the chapter on a slightly more cheerful note, but please let me know what you think in a review; you will win a snow-woman, complete with three boobs (as is sung in the traditional Earth ballad 'Year 3000'). xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

**It's been four months since we last spoke. I can only offer my apologies. It's been very hectic, what with meeting John and Hank Green, and going to gigs, filming YouTube videos, having massive family gatherings, having minor mental breakdowns...oh, and that small thing called the final months of high school. Terrifying, really. I have seven exams in the next four days, but I felt like I owe you at least **_**something**_**, even if it is only short. I officially finish school on Friday (24****th****), and then I have four exams from the 3****rd**** June to the 14****th****, but after that, I'm free, and I intend to finish this story by July (I finished Jailbait in about six weeks...sigh).**

**One thing that I will draw your attention to before we begin...in my absence, I founded an advice/support blog called phandom-helpcentre (dot tumblr dot com). I made it after seeing loads of people hurting themselves within the Phandom (danisnotonfire/AmazingPhil fandom), and I wanted to try to help. Jen-who-Lily-is-based-on is my co-runner, and if you feel like you need someone to talk to about ANYTHING, you're welcome to visit – being in the Phandom isn't necessary, and our (not professional) advice is completely anonymous ^_^**

**And thank you for all the attention this story has been receiving in my sabbatical (hello, new readers. Take this cookie as a token of my gratitude). Writer's block is cruel, but regardless of my suffering, I do not deserve this sort of recognition. If you want to keep up with my life, I'd recommend following me on twitter and tumblr; the links to both can be found on my profile.**

**Onwards! (Jen, this counts towards your yearbook entry as I haven't had the chance to write anything else yet).**

**~Lily POV~**

I sat on the edge of my bed, hands braced on knees, head held high. It was around 5am, but I'd already been awake for two hours. Every time I shut my eyes, _his_ face swam into my mind, insisting that he was innocent, imploring me to listen to him, begging me for help. Avoiding sleep meant avoiding his lies, and I was happy with making that choice, even if my hands now shook from the large quantities of caffeine I'd consumed in the last two days. I could not afford to let him trick me again, even if that trickery took place beyond the veil of sleep. Any form of compromise was unacceptable. I had to stop my heart clouding my mind.

God, I missed him.

It hadn't even been that long since I last saw him. A week or so. And yet _so much_ can change in a week. I'd never been a stranger to change, but it had been a long time since something I was so emotionally invested in changed so quickly. From loving him...to this. I hated that my heart still swelled when I thought of him, of his hands in my hair and his lips on mine. I raised my hand in front of me and glared at it, as if the force of my gaze would stop the offending limb shaking. I was unsuccessful.

5:30am. The team would be leaving at 10am for the first battle. I stood up, putting my hands in the pockets of my shorts to convince myself that they weren't trembling. It's just the caffeine, I told myself. My heart has been sealed away carefully. Just the caffeine.

I found myself heading to the lower levels of Stark Tower (really, it was Avengers Tower, but Tony's far too big-headed to take his name off the building), towards the huge and well-equipped gym. I still had minimal training, but I was confident that my death-given agility and fitness would keep me safe in a tight spot. I healed quick and I was handy with both a knife and a gun. In theory, no one could get close enough to warrant hand-to-hand combat.

I paused in the doorway, hearing thudding from within the gym. It was accompanied by grunts of exertion, and I stepped inside, turning to see Steve pounding the hell out of a punch bag. Leaning against the wall, I folded my arms, my eyes roaming over his back and bum, admiring the way his sweat soaked white shirt showed the movement of all of his muscles as they contracted and relaxed in tandem. Hey, I'm 19! I'm allowed to admire the scenery! And some scenery it was...

The bag flew off the hook, sand spilling out of the new split in the seam. Steve sighed. As he turned to pick up a new bag, I stepped forward out of the shadows and his eyes flicked over to me. He smiled sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Likewise." I retorted as I walked over to him, dragging my sneaker-clad foot through the sand on the floor. "What's been keeping you awake then, Cap'n?"

"The usual. It's always worse right before I've gotta go into battle. I remember battles fought 70 years ago...it's not exactly conducive to restfulness." He lifted the chain of the bag and hooked it up. It was acts like that – lifted 100 kilograms worth of sand with just one hand – that remind you that he's Captain America, the Super Soldier, not just Steve Rodgers, the man out of time.

"I can imagine." I murmured.

"I hardly need ask what's stopping you sleeping, do I?"

"A possibly lethal overdose of caffeine." I quipped and he chuckled. He nodded his head towards the bag.

"Wanna have a go?" I eyed the bag apprehensively. "Come on, it can't hurt."

"It bloody well can." I muttered, thinking of the fractured knuckle I'd sustained a couple of days ago (that healed within three hours, but still had been uncomfortable). Steve shook his head, grabbing a roll of bandages from the bench and holding out a hand. I looked at it questioningly, and he gently took my hand and started wrapping it, his deft actions showing that he had a lot of practise. I looked up from our hands, smiling slightly as I saw the concentration plain on his face. His eyes met mine and neither of us could quite look away for a long moment. He moved first, coughing awkwardly as he stepped back, rubbing his neck, which was flushing pink.

"Okay, so you know how to throw a punch, right?" He held the slightly swinging bag steady as I centred myself, forcing myself to ignore the heat that our _moment_ had created. I punched the bag squarely, springing forward and then stepping back again, holding my fists in front of me. He shuffled backwards as I started pummelling the bag, finding beating-the-crap-out-of-a-sand-filled-bag strangely therapeutic. The bag barely moved compared to when Steve was hitting its predecessor, but I found myself putting more and more force into the blows as the adrenaline started pumping through my veins. I felt sweat trickling down the side of my face and was grateful that I was just wearing shorts and a tank top. My chest heaving, I slowed down, feeling my muscles twitching as I brought myself to a stop. I pushed the wisps of hair that had stuck to my face in the general direction of my ponytail and saw Steve watching me carefully.

"What?" I panted, trying to catch my breath. Wordlessly, he handed me a bottle of water, which I took and drained in a matter of seconds. "Did I do good?"

"Was it a test?" He countered, and I shrugged. He pushed off the wall and crossed the room, standing next to me, close enough that the tops of our arms touched (well, the top of my arm brushed his elbow, at least). "You certainly pack a forceful punch, but it's too tense. You've gotta make sure that you follow through. The initial movement needs energy behind it, but once you're moving, don't hold back. You're almost mechanical; you need to swing round your arm." I stepped aside as he took my place, the bag recoiling from his strike. "Imagine that your body is a pivot. Don't punch the bag, punch through it." I attempted to do as he said, but he shook his head. Looking conflicted for a short moment, Steve moved to stand behind me, wrapping his fingers around my wrists. It was my natural instinct to relax back into him, but I shook myself mentally, ordering myself to focus. He brought our hands up, and moved my curled fist towards the bag. As my knuckles bumped the material he paused. "This is where your punch stops." He carried on pushing my fist forward, pushing against the resistance the bag offered. "You need to carry it through." I nodded, feeling his body behind me through every nerve in my body. Steve was built so differently to _him_; where _he_ was lithe, strong but subtly so, Steve was a solid wall of muscle.

"So kinda like this?" I threw a punch towards the bag, pulling Steve with me. The bag swung on the hook more than it had done before, and as I moved back to the rest position my hip bumped against Steve's. I didn't need to look to know that he blushed.

"Y-yeah. Much better." He showed me again, his hands hold on my forearms and the bag swung. I perfected my swing after another couple of tries, and he nodded approvingly. "You're good." I pulled my tank top down over my hips where it had ridden up and caught his eyes lingering. He cleared his throat. "Do you know how to block punches?"

**~X~**

An hour and a half later, my muscles were burning with effort but I didn't relent, even as Steve offered a break. There would be no breaks in battle, I argued, and he was forced to agree. He was trying to show me some fancy move to bring an enemy down as you block their punch, and I was getting there, I swear. Well, I did something, at least – Steve ended up on the floor. Slight execution flaw in that I landed on top of him.

"Ah...that's not quite it." He commented drily.

"You don't say." I breathed. I was acutely aware of the fact that our hips were perfectly aligned, that his hands had fallen to rest on my waist, that my chest was pressed against his firmly. He glanced down and then back up to my face, blushing furiously. I realised that my tank top had slipped to expose a bit more cleavage than normal, and the fact that the girls were pushed up against his chest made them seem quite a bit bigger than they usually did. I tapped his cheek. "You're blushing."

"A-am I?" I smirked.

"Am I bothering you?"

"Uh..."

"Are you hugely uncomfortable?"

"I..."

"Would you like me to move?"

"Yes please." I giggled as I rolled sideways, lying on my back beside him. We both caught our breath for a minute, and I realised with a start that wanted to roll back onto him and 'fondue'. I mentally berated my hormones for being so...horny. Steve was definitely not a suitable candidate for the rebound, especially not with his 1940s moral compass. I reached over and touched his wrist.

"Thanks for this. I didn't realise what a good outlet working out was." He smiled at me.

"Don't mention it, Lily. You've been through a lot."

"Not half as much as you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." We lay in silence for a couple of minutes longer before he sighed and got to his feet. I looked at the clock on the wall. 8am. "We'd better go get ready. Big day." He offered me a hand and I took it. As he pulled me up, I stumbled, falling against his chest. We both froze. His words caught in his throat as he looked down at me, holding my hand between us. I found that I couldn't look away from him – his eyes held me transfixed. Blonde hair, blue eyes, rockin' body...all American good looks. Nothing like what I was used to. Nothing that I ever thought was attainable. Nothing like what I thought I wanted. But, you see, I wasn't thinking as I reached up and pressed my lips to his.

**Hm. Didn't mean for that to happen. Bloody characters getting carried away...sorry this is short/lacking in plot, but I wanted to write **_**something**_**. Hopefully should be another chapter up soon – and I mean **_**soon**_**, not the sort of time it took to get this up. Please review – they are my lifeblood and also may make me feel better about the inevitable failure of my two exams tomorrow that I am not prepared for oh god send help.**

**~Saskia xxx**


	14. Chapter 14

**14**

**HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THIS ANOTHER UPDATE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AFTER THE LAST.  
*clears throat* Sorry. Anyway. A friendly reminder that I reply to all signed reviews and if you leave a twitter or tumblr URL then I can reply via that. I don't bite, honest. Please review. *puppy eyes*. In other news, I officially finished school last Friday and then got a leetle bit too drunk. And then went to a gig the following day. Kids, going to a gig with a hangover is a baaaaad idea.**

**~This chapter contains more detail about sexy times than I have ever gone into before. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, I struggled with writing it.~**

**Onwards! **

**~Lily POV~**

I sat at the breakfast bar, freshly showered and suited up, digging in to a bowl of cereal, a mug of tea next to my bowl. The rest of the team hadn't yet showed up, and I was enjoying the solitude to mull over what had already happened. It was only 9:30am, and already..._no, mustn't start thinking about that, bad Lily_. I shovelled an unnecessarily large spoonful of cereal into my mouth, and just my luck, Tony walked in.

"Good morning sunshine. When did you become a chipmunk?" I flipped him the bird, chewing furiously. "Hey now, don't choke." Finally my mouth was empty and I cleared my throat.

"Don't you have someone else to irritate?"

"Um, let me see...nope, you're the only one on my list for today." I pushed the mostly empty bowl away and reached for my tea, only to have it plucked from my grasp by Tony. He sipped it and pulled a face. "Tea? Seriously? I have 23 different types of coffee in this room alone and you decide to drink tea?"

"I do what I want." I retorted automatically. He raised an eyebrow as he browsed the fridge, and I dropped my head on to the table. Over the next five minutes, the rest of the team filtered into the kitchen, talking in low voices or not talking at all. Steve was last to appear, and I dropped my head back on to the table to cover up my slight blush. My mind wandered involuntarily back to this morning...

"_Lily..." Steve gasped. "We can't."_

"_To hell with what we can and can't do."_

"_But-" I pressed my lips to his again and his hands tightened on my hips as I sighed against his mouth. The mind is strong but the body is weak and all that...well, his body wasn't by any means weak, but you get what I mean. Steve groaned (in defeat?), his arms encircling my waist as he deepened the kiss, biting my lower lip. I knotted my fingers in his hair as we stumbled back against the wall. One of my hands slipped from his hair and trailed down his chest, slipping under his shirt and tracing his abdominal muscles as his mouth moved from mine to my jaw and then to my neck. For someone with a 1940s moral compass, he certainly seemed to know what he was doing. I ran my foot up his calf and in response his hands curled around my thighs and lifted me up, leaving me with no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist (not that I particularly minded...I didn't mind at all...who would?). Our lips met again and there was no gentleness, only raw lust. I squeezed my knees around his hips tighter and felt his (not so little) friend nudge me. His hand slid under my tank top and crept up my back, and I honestly had no intention to stop him. Until we heard footsteps._

_We broke apart like two naughty schoolchildren, our eyes trained on the ceiling where we could hear someone walking about. I snuck a peek at his face, and saw that it was as flushed as mine undoubtedly was. When we established that no one had any intention of coming down to the gym, Steve swallowed and looked at me._

"_That should not have happened." He murmured._

"_Shouldn't it?" I challenged, nudging his nose with mine (boop). He sighed, tapping my knees as an indication that I should relinquish my hold on his waist._

"_No, it shouldn't have."_

"_Do you regret it?" He just gave me a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Lily..." He stepped away from me, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm over 90 years old-"_

"_And looking good on it."_

"_-and you're only 19, and neither of us were really thinking-"_

"_What's so wrong with that?"_

"_-and I'm not so naive that I think this-" he gestured between the two of us, "-will solve anything." I felt my face drop, and his eyes softened. "I'm sorry. It's for the best." He reached for my face, running his thumb over my cheekbone softly. Then, dropping a kiss to my forehead, he grabbed his gym bag and left._

"Sunshine? Bedtime was a while ago, you gotta get up, we got some vampire ass to kick." I raised my head from the table to see Tony right in my face, his brown eyes sparkling.

"I'm ready!" I insisted as I stood up and dumped my bowl and mug in the washer, wiping my slightly sweaty hands across my thighs.

"Alright then, let's go, party people!" Tony flounced off towards the door and everyone followed. Steve knocked into me and automatically turned to apologise. His face coloured as I winked at him, and he walked off pretty quickly. His confidence from a few hours ago seemed to have completely evaporated, leaving us with the blushing, nervous Steve that we all knew and loved.

"You left our room pretty early this morning...still can't sleep?" Natasha sidled up to me, and I shook my head wordlessly. "What's up with the Super Soldier?"

"No idea." I replied nonchalantly. "Shall we go?"

**~X~**

"Everyone take a communicator." I took the small earpiece and put it in as everyone followed suit. I was in a reinforced jumpsuit with guns on each hip and a knife in each boot. I was about as ready as I could be. Fury nodded at our pilot. "Okay, Romanoff, Barton, Rodgers, Girling, you're up first. Once you've been dropped, wait until Stark and Thor are in position before going in. If you need backup, Banner, we'll drop you, but for the love of God contain yourself until you're in range." Everyone nodded, each in the middle of their own preparation routine. Stark was talking quietly to Jarvis, Thor was inspecting his hammer, Bruce was cleaning his glasses, Tasha and Clint were shadow punching...I looked across at Steve just as he made the sign of the cross. He quickly stood next to me and leant down so no one else would hear.

"Is working together going to be a problem?" He asked in a low voice, his breath tickling my ear.

"Course not. As long as you've got my back, then I've got yours." I smiled and he ducked his head.

"Lily. I do not believe we have spoken since my return to Midgard. How do you fare?" Thor rested a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm holding up alright, Thor." His brow furrowed.

"I promise that Loki will be held accountable for his actions." I stiffened at the mention of his brother's name.

"Let's not worry about him right now, and focus on the job at hand instead." I said through clenched teeth and he nodded.

"Team One, let's go!" Fury called, and the four of us stood at the back of the plane as the hatch opened and we jumped out. We crouched around the corner of the entrance waiting for the go ahead.

"Our strategy is to help each other to kill the bastards, you got that? Well-thought out plans are crap in practise, so just go in there and do your job." Clint nodded at all of us. "A pleasure, as always."

"The same, Hawkeye." Tasha smirked at him.

"_Go go go."_ Tony's voice was tinny in our earpieces and we jumped into action. Well, I say jumped. I mean we crept towards the door, where I put my hand on it, as silent as you like. I counted down and pushed it open, letting the others go in before me. I heard a cry of surprise almost instantly, and entered with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other to see Natasha and Clint already grappling with one of the Valkyris, taking it in turns to land blows or fire shots on the short, raven-haired man who was hissing at the pair. I started towards them when a woman who could have been the dark-haired man's twin dropped from somewhere above to crouch in front of me, her head tilted to one side in an almost snake-like manner. Steve and I skidded to a halt, warily watching the woman...well, 'woman'.

"Ze Sooper Soldier and ze one brought back from ze dead. Eet eez an honour." Her strangely accented voice was muffled as she sank to the ground in a mock bow. We exchanged a quick look before wordlessly beginning our attack. As her back straightened, she was knocked back down by a powerful blow from Steve shield, which I followed up with a sharp kick to the face. I levelled my gun at the creature and dispensed one, two, three bullets into her chest, smirking as her cries echoed around the room. I heard the unmistakable sounds of a hand repulsor charging, firing and recharging and I risked a look up to see Iron Man in full on kick-ass mode on a stocky ginger with significant curves. She was laughing manically as she danced around the blue-white beams, cackling even louder whenever she was hit. Someone's a few pickles short of a picnic.

"Lily!" I heard Steve shout as I was knocked flat on my back. I blinked furiously and damn near crapped myself when the snake woman landed on top of me, teeth gnashing furiously towards my face. I desperately reached for the gun on my hip as both my weapons had fallen out of my grasp when I fell. A blur of redwhiteblue flew in from my peripheral vision and the snake woman wailed as Steve's shield smacked into the side of her head again. She was knocked off balance momentarily, which was plenty of time for me to summon my gun from a few metres away and shoot her in the head. I shied away from the blood splatter, wary of the subordination it could cause and rolled until she fell off me. She curled in to a ball, clearly wounded but healing...fast. We stumbled out of the way as she sprung to her feet, reaching for us with what once was fingers but now were claws, screaming wildly. A beam of whiteblue light shot between me and Steve, right into the woman...and through her. A hole formed in her chest cavity where her heart once was, and dark blood trickled out sluggishly. She looked down in shock, and I seized her moment of vulnerability by the metaphorical balls. My knife flew up from the ground where I dropped it and towards her, rotating as it sliced through her neck.

Her head dropped to the floor, bouncing sickeningly before rolling to a gentle stop at my feet. Urgh.

"INGA!" The word ripped from the man the Hawk and the Widow were pinning down and I tripped backwards away from the head, unable to hide my disgust at what I'd just done. My back came up against something solid and warm, and I felt a hand rest of my hip reassuringly.

"It had to be done." Steve murmured. There was a frenzied yell as the dark haired man threw Clint and Tasha to the side and rushed towards me, his face an insane mask, fangs bared. Steve turned me, holding up the shield in front of us, only to have it ripped away from his hands and thrown carelessly behind us. The man reached for me, holding the tops of my arms in a vice-like grip, dragging me away from Steve and almost lifting me off my feet.

"You keeled Inga. Now you will suffer." he hissed, his face only inches from mine. I held my breath, praying that none of the spittle flying from his mouth would land in any of the cuts and scratches that I had only just become aware of. His hands tightened around my arms and I could almost feel the strain my bones were being put under. I rotated the gun holster on my hip, unable to move my arms sufficiently to remove the firearm that was in it and curled my finger round the trigger. The bullet ripped through the pliable plastic and smacked into his abdomen, forcing him to relinquish his hold on my arms. I kicked the wound, putting more space between him and me and exhaled as Clint put an arrow through the Valkyris' skull. The man looked vaguely annoyed at the fact that there was now an arrow in his eye socket. Then his head exploded.

"TNT, bitch." Clint sneered and I glared at the three other members of my team.

"Thanks for all your help there, guys(!)" I snapped and they looked apologetic. I heard a battle cry from Thor as he launched his hammer at the redhead, who simply jumped higher than possible and landed on the other side of the demigod, only to be met with a metal fist to the solar plexus. She grunted and I could almost hear Tony's smirk.

"Now that's gonna smart in the morning." His voice was slightly mechanical but still managed to make me smirk. Keep calm and stay sassy, that's Tony all over.

"Rakel!" A shout came from the roof. "Leave them!" The redhead pulled a face, clearly enjoying the fight. "RAKEL!" The voice from the roof was harsher now, and I ran for one of the walls that was made up of shelves, pulling myself up them towards the voice. I heard the redhead on the floor mutter something before she jumped past me, straight from the floor, snatching hold of an impossibly tiny gap in the roof and ripping it free, sending it tumbling towards the ground. I saw Clint seizing Natasha by the elbow to pull her out of the way, and by the time I looked back up, Rakel was blowing a kiss and leaping through the hole in the ceiling. I judged the distance and jumped for it, only just grabbing hold of it, and swinging from my fingertips for a dangerous second, before my strength returned and I pulled myself up. I stood on the roof, being buffeted by the down force created by the helicopter that was just leaving. A blur in red and gold flew past me, taking aim at the helicopter and firing, followed by a red cape billowing in the wind towards the still retreating coptor. I sunk down to my knees on the roof, the rush of adrenalin abandoning me as quickly as it found me, leaving me shaking uncontrollably. I heard a grunt behind me but didn't look as Steve stood over me, looking down.

"Barton and Romanoff are sweeping the building for any human slaves or survivors. It doesn't look like Loki was ever here." His voice was still authoritative, still in the mode of Captain America rather than the gentle, teasing, blushing Steve Rodgers of the gym this mor...was it only this morning? I nodded mutely, wrapping my arms around my knees, suddenly freezing cold. His voice softened. "You did what was necessary, Lily. Think of the lives you've saved."

"I know that. I know that. I know. I..." To my surprise, I felt a tear run down my cheek. "She was alive, you know? She had a name, and someone who cared about her...and I killed her without thinking."

"She wasn't human. She was a murderer."

"I know. But...the worst thing that I've done before is accidentally go over a mouse nest with a lawnmower, and I felt awful. This...I'm a murderer too now." Steve dropped to one knee, reaching to turn my face up, forcing me to look at him.

"The first kill is always difficult, even if it can be justified. It won't leave you. None of them ever do. But you're doing what's _right_." He gently pushed the wayward strands of hair back from my face. "An eye for an eye..." he murmured. I turned my face into his palm, fighting the urge to press my lips to it. We stayed like that until the return of Tony was announced by the sound of metal on tarmac.

"Woo! Now that's what I'm talking about! Nothing like a good fight to cure a- woah, woah, hey, hey! Am I interrupting something here? Lily, don't you think it's a little soon to be moving on? Like, what is the acceptable mourning period over the cruel end of a relationship? Surely it's more than a couple of days, considering how loved up you and Loki were, and how deeply his betrayal cut you." Tony laughed raucously when I stuck my middle finger up at him.

**~X~**

I limped out of the debriefing back at Stark Tower, massaging my arms where there were hand shaped bruises. They were taking an annoying long time to heal, and I longed for a shower and my bed.

Fury had told us that when he sent his agents in, they found twenty two people unconscious in a room. When they were roused, nine of them seemed dazed and confused, while the remainder attacked the agents without a word. I reminded him that Loki had said that the mind control would end if the master was killed, indicating that the nine people had 'belonged' to the two dark haired creatures that we had taken down. They were taken away to their own debriefing, while the others were sedated and taken to padded cells. They weren't being given up on quite yet.

"Lily!" I sighed inwardly as I turned to Tasha, who jogged to catch me up. Ugh. She's just come out of a battle with crazy vampire S. and her hair is still that perfect?! "How're you holding up?"

"Been better, been worse." I said noncommittally as she fell into step with me. "Yourself?"

"I'm fine. Barton barely let me do anything. He forgets that I can take care of myself..." she grumbled.

"Trouble in paradise?" I teased and she, to my surprise, flushed. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just...nothing. You and Steve have seemed a little edgy today. Wanna tell me what happened?" I mimed zipping my lips shut. "That means something happened, tell me. I'm your team member, remember. No secrets." I scoffed.

"No secrets, oh really?" I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I've already had Stark interrogating me, on top of decapitating a vampire bitch and having my arms nearly broken by said vampire bitch's twinsy. I've had a long day and I need a shower and my bed."

"Awww, come on, lighten up." Natasha smiled. "Look at it this way – together we have reduced the threat of this invasion thing by 33.3%."

"That does sound pretty awesome." I admitted and her grin widened. "I'm still not telling you anything." She pouted. "Don't look at me like that!"

"I'll get it out of you. It's what I've been trained to do, get secrets out of people." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What, you're gonna use your mad secret sexy spy skills for gossip now?" She smiled serenely and I elbowed her. "Tell you what. We should have a girls' night."

"What do you mean?"

"A girls' night. Sleepover. Chick flicks. Ice cream. Gossip."

"Sounds torturous."

"Awww, come on, lighten up!" I mocked and she narrowed her eyes at me. "We deserve it. Not tonight...tomorrow. We can invite Pepper too. And maybe even Maria Hill, if she can be persuaded to remove the stick from up her ass for five minute." Natasha gave the most unladylike snort. "I'll take that as agreement?"

"Fine, whatever. We need a night off. Why not have a night off with burn-your-brain-cells movies and totally unnecessary calories?"

"That's the spirit." I stopped at our door. "You coming in yet?"

"Nahh, gonna go see Barton for a bit and get my suit repaired." I gave her a _look. _ "Shut up." I laughed.

"See you later, Tasha. Well done on today."

"The same goes for you, Lily. I'll admit, I had my misgivings about you being an Agent...but you've done yourself proud. S.H.I.E.L.D are lucky to have you." I smiled ruefully.

"I'm lucky to have such a good way to distract myself from my internal emotional breakdown." I muttered drily as I shut the door.

**Not entirely sure how that turned out, because I am awful at writing a) sexy-times in anything other than vague detail and b) fighty-times. I'm sorry. Next chapter should be, in theory, comedic relief, when it arrives. This would have been up last night, but I was tired, so I went to bed. Logic! Please leave me a review to let me know what you think – I'm open to suggestions, if there's anything you wanna see. Gonna TRY to get an update out within the week, but don't hold me to that.**

**~Saskia xxx**


	15. Update

**AN**

**I'm sure you were expecting a new chapter, considering it has been three weeks since the last, and I'm sorry to disappoint. This notice will come down the moment I have a new chapter ready, but that is not right now. In fact, I haven't even made a start on the next chapter yet. The reason for this is about a week ago, a plot bunny formed in my brain for a Bruce/OC story, and I haven't been able to focus on anything other than that. I'm trying to get it all written up before I consider posting it, and before I attempt the next chapter for this. The rate I'm going at - eg, I've written about 15000 words in six days - I should finish writing it within a week, at which point I'll write the next chapter for this (which will be the "girls' night" chapter and very light hearted) and get it up as soon as possible. The Bruce/OC story (called "Bruce's Excuses", in case you were wondering) will have a regular upload schedule, and will start to be uploaded...well, whenever you want, really, because I'll have it all written in advance. In order to keep in line with site guidelines, here's a preview from the first chapter.**

_"I'm a doctor. Medical mostly, now – I did some work with uh, radiation, but it wasn't really for me." Bruce was suddenly very interested in his hands._

_"So are you like, Mr Stark's personal doctor then?"_

_"No, I help him in the R&D department. The last time I practised medicine for a living was nearly a year ago now, in Calcutta."_

_"You were a doctor in Calcutta?" I asked, surprised. He nodded. "Wow...that must be quite hard."_

_"Actually, I much preferred the environment there." Bruce smiled as if there was some sort of joke that I missed. I suddenly felt self conscious._

_"I'm sorry about all the questions, you must think I'm terribly nosy." I blushed lightly under my makeup._

_"No, it's okay. It's quite nice, actually. Round here...it's kinda difficult to have a 'normal' conversation." _

**I hope you understand why I'm focussing on that at the minute - I literally can't concentrate on Lily while I've got Bruce dancing round in my head demanding a story. To apologise, I'm giving YOU a chance to be involved directly in what happens in the next chapter. I'm going to include a 'Never Have I Ever...' section, which is a drinking game where you say 'Never have I ever...' and then something that you've never done, and everyone who has done that thing takes a drink. I'm probably going to have the girls doing this with ice cream instead of alcohol, but I need ideas for what they've never done! I've got a couple, but if you could be so kind as to leave your own never have I evers in a review, I'll include as many as possible :D**

**I hope to see you soon, and THANK YOU to everyone reading this who has ever left me a review; I just worked out that Jailbait and Criminal have a total of 640 reviews, which is CRAZY. We're also only about 4000 hits away from 100,000 and you guys have no idea how happy that makes me. I've been having a tough time recently, but I can rely on you people to cheer me right up. Thanks, and don't forget to leave your suggestions in a review!**

**~Saskia xxx**


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